Thieves make a killing at Devendra Fadnavis' swearing-in ceremony

Large crowd outside Azad Maidan on Thursday. Pics/Rajesh Gupta

It was a field day for mobile and chain snatchers, as well as pickpockets, near Azad Maidan, where nearly 75,000 people gathered to witness the oath-taking ceremony of BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister on Thursday evening.

Under the pretext of witnessing the political event, these anti-social elements mingled with the large crowd and snatched valuables. In one incident, an accused even targeted a policeman, but the cop - who was in civilian clothes - caught him after a dramatic chase through the crowd, retrieved his cell phone, and handed him over to his counterparts for further action.

By Thursday evening, Azad Maidan police station was buzzing with victims who had lost their mobile phones, gold chains, wallets, and more. The exact number of theft cases was difficult to determine, as victims kept arriving throughout the evening.

Yadnyesh Chunekar from Dapoli; Sameer Ansari, a victim from Kolkata and Vinod Pal, a Thane resident

While many panic-stricken victims, who had come from various states to witness the political ceremony, hesitated to speak to the media, mid-day managed to speak to a few complainants who said the thieves took advantage of the large crowd to steal their belongings.

Five people who visited the police station to report stolen gold chains told mid-day, "We lost our gold chains in the crowd. The thieves were inside the ground. After entering, the huge crowds and queues made it difficult, and someone snatched our chains."

Three women who lost their gold chains also spoke to mid-day, saying, "We lost our chains inside the ground. While leaving, someone snatched them. We all lost our chains. We reported it to Azad Maidan police, who said they would check the CCTV footage and try to catch the thieves."

Another complainant, Yadnyesh Chunekar from Dapoli, said, "While leaving, someone stole my mobile phone."

Vinod Pal, a Thane resident, told mid-day, "I lost my wallet, but luckily, there was no cash inside. However, I lost all my ID cards, including my ATM cards."

Sameer Ansari, a victim from Kolkata, said, "I lost 35,000 rupees in cash and my mobile phone. I came to Mumbai for a tour and found out there was an event at Azad Maidan. I joined the ceremony with my brother, but they didn't let me in because I didn't have a pass. On my way out, someone stole my phone and wallet. I lost everything."

A policeman, speaking anonymously, told mid-day, "I was deployed near the Churchgate area. While I was holding my mobile phone, an unknown man snatched it. I chased him for 500 metres, caught him, and handed him over to the Azad Maidan police station."