Mobile theft before my eyes

prabuddhadg · 8th March 2007, 20:12

Just last evening I was driving home from work on the Western Express Highway. I was crossing Goregaon, just approaching the narrow Film City flyover. The road was jammed and we were getting to move 4-5 feet at a time. I was in the right most lane, and as often is the case, a man came walking through the traffic ostensibly trying to cross the road. But he didn't walk past me though I slowed down to let him pass (not that he could get past because there was a divider with a barbed wire fence on the right) and kept walking in front of me.
Something seemed out of place. So, I hooted. And then it happened in a split second. This guy had a partner who was walking to the left of the lane of cars on my left. Now these two guys got a Zen between them. The guy on the left bent down to say something to the people in the car (there were two people in front). Nonchalantly, the guy in front of me bent over and picked up something (I guess a cell phone) from the dashboard of the zen. I kept honking, but nobody seemed to notice. By the time I rolled the window down, the two had jogged back through the stream of cars.
I was shell shocked. The poor zen driver did not know what just went by.
I feel so bad I couldn't do anything. I was so close to the divider, I couldn't even open my door.
And the thieves got away scot free.
I am writing this so all of you are a little better prepared if this happens to you.

moralfibre · 8th March 2007, 20:16

This happened quite frequently while crossing Dharavi traffic. I have heard many stories about it and also read it somewhere on the forum itself.

EDIT: Found the link in case you missed it before - Link

prabuddhadg · 8th March 2007, 20:18

In fact i had posted a third party experience before. But seeing a theft being conducted is eerie.

moralfibre · 8th March 2007, 20:22

Best way to avoid this is:

Ensure all 4 doors are locked.
Do not keep cellphones / wallets / any valuables in visible sight like on the dashboard.
If no one is travelling with you, roll up all other windows except the driver side window.

khaadu75 · 8th March 2007, 20:23

Innovative I must say ..... but frustrating definitely for you !!! Once a similar thing happened in Delhi with 2 elderly ladies in the car in front of me at the Ashram Chowk ... their mobile vanished , and before they realised the guys got on teh bike and left -- Me and my friend were in the Palio going to my mech just ahead of Ashram Chowk . Unluckily for them they got stuck in the wrong lane .... i went from teh extreme right and they realised that we were after them -- they got an empty stretch , so did we , and we literally knockled them of bike ( hindi movie ishtyle ) !! The ****ers fell down ... got uyp -- left teh bike and the mobile and ran into the narrow alleys .

We obviously didnt catch them but the cops came in .... and took teh bike in and realised it was a stolen bike , stolen 3 days earlier from under the same police station . And strangely the ladies didnt know their mobile had vanished .. we had to call a number from the address book to figure out teh owner and send it across .

So I know hwo you feel .... but then its not everyday that you can help !!!

PS -- Drive with ur doors locked and windows up ... specially when u nearing a red light or a traffic jam !!

typeOnegative · 8th March 2007, 21:09

Heard a lot of these things and have taken precautions ever since.

Hmmm, another thing. Its OT, but all you guys (on this thread) have/had Fiats and 1.6s at that. Including me.

Could not resist bringing up Fiat again. LOL

navdeep · 8th March 2007, 21:16

Well they always come up with new ideas.In my city the victims are girls/ladies walking down the street. (Incidently I find 95% of girls on mobile while walking). The two guys come on thier bike and the pillion snatch the phone and they are out of sight in a flash.

esteem_lover · 8th March 2007, 21:23

very very frustrating. but you got to be careful while driving. a different modus operandi here in chennai. a helpful motorist will stop beside you & tell you that your car is leaking engine oil or petrol. when you climb down, they snatch whatever they can & speed away. has happened many times here.

rks · 8th March 2007, 21:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by khaadu75

Once a similar thing happened in Delhi with 2 elderly ladies in the car in front of me at the Ashram Chowk ... their mobile vanished , and before they realised the guys got on teh bike and left.... --they got an empty stretch , so did we , and we literally knockled them of bike ( hindi movie ishtyle ) !!

Would have been a good Hindi movie script if the ladies were young and pretty, and along with the heroes, given to singing and dancing for no rhyme or reason.

aZa · 8th March 2007, 21:43

Such things are common in the Karol bagh area especially near the Gaffar market parking, A laptop and a cellphone was stolen from my dads car on two different occasions with the driver present in the car at this same place.

abhibh · 8th March 2007, 21:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by navdeep

Well they always come up with new ideas.In my city the victims are girls/ladies walking down the street. (Incidently I find 95% of girls on mobile while walking). The two guys come on thier bike and the pillion snatch the phone and they are out of sight in a flash.

Happened just in front of me once, but the girls were lucky as the guys loose control of the bike and fell

and rest you all can guess. I always keep my mobile in pocket. Plus i have asoftware installed named "Symbian Toys Guard", so the person who will steal it have reflash everything to get it working..

finneyp · 8th March 2007, 22:30

Thatz quite a daring act in broad daylight!
Will alert my acquaitances in Mumbai about this nuisance!

pawan · 8th March 2007, 22:31

its real bad to see how the way people are but its a good thing you tried to inform the people others would have just let it pass why the problem for us kind a attitude.

Steeroid · 8th March 2007, 22:37

Reminds me of Nigeria. There, a group of guys (called 'Area Boys' - equivalent to your local Dadas in Mumbai) would simply wait around a person who is, say, on the phone at a bus-stop. It happened to one of my staff - she noticed some guys around her while she was on the phone, and took her attention off the conversation to ask them what they were waiting for. They simply said 'we were waitin for you to finish yor conversation'. Sure enough, once she finished 'her conversation' they simply took the phone off her and said thank you very much.

At least they are direct and upfront...

unlike our chaps in Mumbai.

devarshi84 · 8th March 2007, 22:45

it happened to me in my own office. :(

That was the first ever phone I had bought from my own hard-earned money.

The white guy came into the place with a woman. the woman distracted my sight and the man easily did his job.

I saw it all on video which made me feel even more miserable.

8th March 2007, 20:12	#1
prabuddhadg BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 812 Thanked: 81 Times View My Garage	Mobile theft before my eyes Just last evening I was driving home from work on the Western Express Highway. I was crossing Goregaon, just approaching the narrow Film City flyover. The road was jammed and we were getting to move 4-5 feet at a time. I was in the right most lane, and as often is the case, a man came walking through the traffic ostensibly trying to cross the road. But he didn't walk past me though I slowed down to let him pass (not that he could get past because there was a divider with a barbed wire fence on the right) and kept walking in front of me. Something seemed out of place. So, I hooted. And then it happened in a split second. This guy had a partner who was walking to the left of the lane of cars on my left. Now these two guys got a Zen between them. The guy on the left bent down to say something to the people in the car (there were two people in front). Nonchalantly, the guy in front of me bent over and picked up something (I guess a cell phone) from the dashboard of the zen. I kept honking, but nobody seemed to notice. By the time I rolled the window down, the two had jogged back through the stream of cars. I was shell shocked. The poor zen driver did not know what just went by. I feel so bad I couldn't do anything. I was so close to the divider, I couldn't even open my door. And the thieves got away scot free. I am writing this so all of you are a little better prepared if this happens to you.
	(4) Thanks

8th March 2007, 20:16	#2
moralfibre Team-BHP Support Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: MH-12 Posts: 8,451 Thanked: 13,971 Times	This happened quite frequently while crossing Dharavi traffic. I have heard many stories about it and also read it somewhere on the forum itself. EDIT: Found the link in case you missed it before - Link Last edited by moralfibre : 8th March 2007 at 20:17.
	() Thanks

8th March 2007, 20:18	#3
prabuddhadg BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 812 Thanked: 81 Times View My Garage	In fact i had posted a third party experience before. But seeing a theft being conducted is eerie.
	() Thanks

8th March 2007, 20:22	#4
moralfibre Team-BHP Support Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: MH-12 Posts: 8,451 Thanked: 13,971 Times	Best way to avoid this is: Ensure all 4 doors are locked. Do not keep cellphones / wallets / any valuables in visible sight like on the dashboard. If no one is travelling with you, roll up all other windows except the driver side window.
	() Thanks

8th March 2007, 20:23	#5
khaadu75 BANNED Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: same as the proposed venue for F1 ;-) Posts: 1,156 Thanked: 16 Times View My Garage	Innovative I must say ..... but frustrating definitely for you !!! Once a similar thing happened in Delhi with 2 elderly ladies in the car in front of me at the Ashram Chowk ... their mobile vanished , and before they realised the guys got on teh bike and left -- Me and my friend were in the Palio going to my mech just ahead of Ashram Chowk . Unluckily for them they got stuck in the wrong lane .... i went from teh extreme right and they realised that we were after them -- they got an empty stretch , so did we , and we literally knockled them of bike ( hindi movie ishtyle ) !! The ***ers fell down ... got uyp -- left teh bike and the mobile and ran into the narrow alleys . We obviously didnt catch them but the cops came in .... and took teh bike in and realised it was a stolen bike , stolen 3 days earlier from under the same police station . And strangely the ladies didnt know their mobile had vanished .. we had to call a number from the address book to figure out teh owner and send it across . So I know hwo you feel .... but then its not everyday that you can help !!! PS -- Drive with ur doors locked and windows up ... specially when u nearing a red light or a traffic jam !! Last edited by khaadu75 : 8th March 2007 at 20:25.*
	() Thanks

8th March 2007, 21:09	#6
typeOnegative Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Vikhroli, Mumbai, India Posts: 1,503 Thanked: 27 Times	Heard a lot of these things and have taken precautions ever since. Hmmm, another thing. Its OT, but all you guys (on this thread) have/had Fiats and 1.6s at that. Including me. Could not resist bringing up Fiat again. LOL
	() Thanks

8th March 2007, 21:16	#7
navdeep BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 892 Thanked: 4 Times	Well they always come up with new ideas.In my city the victims are girls/ladies walking down the street. (Incidently I find 95% of girls on mobile while walking). The two guys come on thier bike and the pillion snatch the phone and they are out of sight in a flash.
	() Thanks

8th March 2007, 21:23	#8
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	very very frustrating. but you got to be careful while driving. a different modus operandi here in chennai. a helpful motorist will stop beside you & tell you that your car is leaking engine oil or petrol. when you climb down, they snatch whatever they can & speed away. has happened many times here.
	() Thanks

8th March 2007, 21:43	#10
aZa Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Noida / Delhi Posts: 1,595 Thanked: 21 Times View My Garage	Such things are common in the Karol bagh area especially near the Gaffar market parking, A laptop and a cellphone was stolen from my dads car on two different occasions with the driver present in the car at this same place.
	() Thanks

8th March 2007, 22:30	#12
finneyp Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,716 Thanked: 319 Times View My Garage	Thatz quite a daring act in broad daylight! Will alert my acquaitances in Mumbai about this nuisance!
	() Thanks

8th March 2007, 22:31	#13
pawan BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: auckland, new zealand Posts: 868 Thanked: 4 Times	its real bad to see how the way people are but its a good thing you tried to inform the people others would have just let it pass why the problem for us kind a attitude.
	() Thanks

8th March 2007, 22:37	#14
Steeroid Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: N.A Posts: 7,046 Thanked: 2,751 Times	Reminds me of Nigeria. There, a group of guys (called 'Area Boys' - equivalent to your local Dadas in Mumbai) would simply wait around a person who is, say, on the phone at a bus-stop. It happened to one of my staff - she noticed some guys around her while she was on the phone, and took her attention off the conversation to ask them what they were waiting for. They simply said 'we were waitin for you to finish yor conversation'. Sure enough, once she finished 'her conversation' they simply took the phone off her and said thank you very much. At least they are direct and upfront... unlike our chaps in Mumbai.
	() Thanks

8th March 2007, 22:45	#15
devarshi84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ahmedabad - Tor Posts: 4,024 Thanked: 211 Times View My Garage	it happened to me in my own office. :( That was the first ever phone I had bought from my own hard-earned money. The white guy came into the place with a woman. the woman distracted my sight and the man easily did his job. I saw it all on video which made me feel even more miserable.
	() Thanks