165 mobile phones stolen on final day

Mumbai: The Kalachowki Police had to put in more man-hours and pump in police station staff to cater to the mob of complainants that thronged to report thefts while worshipping the Lalbaugcha Raja.

The police said that the alleged crimes, mostly mobile phone thefts, took place when the immersion procession began. Police had set up multiple complaint desks after few hundreds of the worshippers approached them with complaints.

The officials said that at least 165 complaints of phone thefts were received from those who visited the Lalbaug Ganesh pandal. The complainants stated that the phones were lost in the crowd while seeing off the Ganesha from the narrow Chivda Lane in Kalachowki area. The police have registered theft case in connection with the incidents.

“We have received complaints and are probing into the incidents. The Closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage will be looked into to identify the accused,” said a police officer.

The officials said that similar incidents of several thefts took place at the same pandal in 2016 in which involvement of groups from Gujarat was found. The investigators are now trying to ascertain if the same persons are involved in this case.

The police meanwhile registered 202 cases related to violation of noise pollution based on the directions of the Bombay high court. The cases were registered in the 10 days period of Ganesh festival, officials said. Most of these complaints were received on the Mumbai police helpline number.

The police had specially appealed to the people to lodge complaints via tweets or helpline number if they witness violation or noise during restricted hours.

“We have registered cases based on the court’s directions and the concerned police stations will investigate them further,” said Manjunath Singe, deputy commissioner and Mumbai police spokesperson.