NAROWAL: Mobile phone snatching incidents on moving trains along the Lahore-Narowal section are seeing an increase, with passengers raising concerns about their safety.

Muhammad Amin, a resident of Badumalhi Town, recounted an incident on Oct 2 when he was using his mobile phone on a passenger train departing from Lahore at 7:15pm. As the train departed from Badami Bagh railway station, a person on the platform snatched his valuable mobile phone and disappeared.

Abdul Hamid, a shopkeeper residing in Narang Mandi, shared a similar experience. He travels to Lahore for shopping and has witnessed over a dozen mobile phone snatching incidents during his train journeys.

Muhammad Iqbal, from Jasar village near Narowal, recounted an incident from January when he and his family were traveling to Narowal from Lahore. A young man snatched his mobile phone as the train left Shahdara railway station. The stolen mobile phone was valued at Rs100,000. Despite reporting the incident to the railway police and train guards, no action was taken. Iqbal alleged the involvement of railway police employees in theft and robbery on passenger trains.

Regular train passengers Muhammad Ibrahim and Naeem Akhtar expressed the fear among passengers regarding criminal elements on platforms at railway stations targeting those sitting by window seats on trains running the Narowal-Lahore railway route.

They urged railway authorities to enhance security measures, particularly on night trains, and called for the arrest of these criminal elements.

The Narowal railway station administration declined to comment. Concerned citizens and passengers are appealing to the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Chairman of Railways for immediate attention to address the growing incidents on trains.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2023