Railway station thefts: Delhi Police busts two women-led gangs, 5 arrested; items worth Rs 1 crore seized

According to the police, the two gangs which operated separately at Sarai Rohilla and New Delhi railway stations, used lifts and escalators to primarily target women carrying handbags.

Police said the first case involved a group of women from Palitana and Bhavnagar in Gujarat, who were living at temporary rented accommodations across Delhi and frequently shifting addresses to avoid getting caught.

The gang, which primarily struck inside lift cabins at Sarai Rohilla station, allegedly opened purses of women passengers while one member created a distraction. A police team arrested one of the accused, Sheetal, after scanning more than 100 CCTV feeds. Jewellery and watches worth Rs 70 lakh were recovered, officers said.

In the second case, four women from Faridpuri Camp in Anand Parbat were arrested for engaging in thefts at New Delhi railway station. Police said the group targeted elderly women on escalators, identifying those carrying jewellery or valuables by observing their movements and bag-handling behaviour.

“To identify the high value target, they would read the body language of the women passengers . They would identify women keeping the purse very close to the body and are regularly checking the bag as their possible targets. They would follow the target closely, remove jewellery from bags during movement and swiftly escape…They targeted women, especially elderly passengers while they were using escalators,” said DCP (Railways) KPS Malhotra.

Jewellery worth Rs 30 lakh was recovered, police said, adding that one of the accused, Laxmi, has 13 previous cases registered against her.

Officers said more than 100 CCTV clips were examined in the two investigations, along with technical and human intelligence inputs.