Nimble fingers exploited in city

Rise in number of child pickpockets is alarming; points to larger nexus, say cops

The number of child pickpockets seems to have risen at an alarming rate in the Cantonment area.

The Lashkar police arrested two kids, aged six and eight, years yesterday for trying to unzip a bag that belonged to a customer at Star Mobile Shop on M G Road.

Constable Anil Rickibe told MiD-DAY, "I caught them red-handed. They started crying and a huge crowd gathered around us."

In the last two weeks, two incidents involving child pickpockets were reported in the city. Customers in the habit of leaving belongings at shop counters while shopping, need to be aware that children are being trained to remove wallets from inside backpacks and handbags. This is exploited by the gangs operating in such areas.

Same old story
Police Inspector Viththal Rane told MiD DAY, "Last week, we arrested a girl for stealing wallets from bags. She said she was a native of Kadiya in Madhya Pradesh. Her mother sold socks at the Pune Railway station and her father suffers from a psychological disorder." He added, "When we detained the two kids, they related a similar story. This led us to believe that these kids as scapegoats and this is a huge racket. "