Dombivli: Railway Police have arrested a repeat offender involved in a series of thefts targeting women commuters on Mumbai’s suburban railway. The accused, Vaishali Sachdev (27), was caught red-handed at Dombivli station.

Sachdev had been under police radar for months due to multiple complaints of thefts in women’s compartments, particularly on trains running between Kalyan, Dombivli, Titwala, Asangaon, and Thane.

On April 30, as a CSMT–Asangaon local departed Dombivli station, several women realized their belongings were missing. Suspicion fell on a woman who was behaving strangely. When confronted, she attempted to escape but was stopped by alert passengers and handed over to the Railway Police. The woman was later identified as Sachdev.

Police recovered a purse, containing Rs 5,100 in cash and an Apple iPhone 13 worth Rs 70,000.

“We had been receiving repeated complaints from women passengers. Our team monitored women's compartments closely and finally nabbed the accused. We remain committed to commuter safety,” senior police inspector Kiran Undre said.