Six commuters on the Central Railway lost their cell phones to members of the fatka gang in 35 minutes -- between 7.40 pm and 8.15 pm -- on April 8. The local crime branch of the Government Railway Police (GRP), recovered all the phones after 13 days, and two young men were arrested.

They have confessed to their involvement in other similar cases, and said they are drug addicts who needed to snatch the cell phones to fund their habit. Hats off to the authorities who have managed to catch two members of this deadly gang. Do not be misled into thinking that snatching cellphones is a petty crime. The modus operandi of this gang is deadly. They hit commuters standing on the footboard of crowded trains with a stick.