The accused has a past criminal record, facing five separate cases since 2017 involving robbery, theft, snatching, and Arms Act violations.

Ludhiana: A joint operation by the Division Number 1 police and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) busted a gang targeting railway passengers, resulting in the arrest of a key member. The police recovered seven stolen mobile phones from the accused, who allegedly used sticks to strike passengers standing near open train doors to force them to drop their phones.Addressing a press conference on Thursday, additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP-1) Sameer Verma said the arrested individual is Shiv Kumar Shibu, 38, a hosiery factory worker residing in Ram Nagar, Jamalpur. Investigators revealed the gang’s method involved waiting along outer railway tracks where trains usually slow down before entering Ludhiana city.The accused has a past criminal record, facing five separate cases since 2017 involving robbery, theft, snatching, and Arms Act violations. Shibu was out on bail at the time of his arrest and will be produced in court to secure police remand for further interrogation regarding the gang’s network and stolen phone buyers.The breakthrough follows an incident 24 days ago near Dhandhari railway station where a traveler from Bihar, Sumit, was struck with a stick while standing by a train door. Sumit suffered a fractured arm and a deep forehead laceration requiring six stitches after jumping from the moving train to chase the fleeing thief, whom police suspect belongs to the same gang.