He however chose to not inform the Government Railway Police (GRP) or lodge a complaint. It was only after nabbing the robber on Tuesday and recovering the stolen phone that the GRP could trace Pande.
The accused, Puransingh Marwadi, 23, works as a porter at Bandra Terminus and has no prior criminal history.
“We have lodged stringent charges of ‘attempt to commit culpable homicide’ besides robbery against him,” said Yogesh Deore , senior inspector, Andheri GRP.
The incident occurred on August 30. Pande, who works with a security company, was lying on a bench on platforms 8/9 and checking his phone. Around 9.30 am, the Bandra-Vapi Express arrived on the platform. As the train was leaving, Marwadi alighted and went close to Pande.
He snatched Pande’s phone and ran back to the train to board it. Pande sprung up and followed him. But while Marwadi could get into a coach, Pande couldn’t and slipped. CCTVs have captured him as he almost fell into the gap but landed on the platform luckily. Meanwhile the train left.
Marwadi pulled the alarm chain between Andheri and Jogeshwari stations and escaped when the train halted. When RPF personnel attended the train, passengers told them about the robbery incident. RPF then checked CCTV footage of Andheri and tracked down Marwadi. He was handed over to GRP on Tuesday.
Officials recovered Pande’s stolen phone from Marwadi but it was locked. They then obtained his call data records and found his relative’s phone number. As Pande was away at work, his relative visited the police station and lodged a formal complaint against Marwadi on Tuesday.
