Thief hangs off moving train after snatching phone, jumps off as passengers beat him: WATCH

Indian Express

26-07-2025

A dramatic incident aboard the Bhagalpur-Muzaffarpur Janseva Intercity Express near Bihar's Munger has gone viral after a thief, allegedly fleeing with a stolen phone, was caught on camera hanging from the footboard of a moving train before leaping off mid-journey.
The scene unfolded when the man – seen in the video wearing a torn T-shirt, a jeans, holding a shirt in his hand, and injured – snatched a passenger's phone and tried to escape. With no route to flee, he latched onto the train's footboard, desperately holding on as the train sped ahead. The video also shows passengers hurling abuses at him, and some even striking him with a belt as he dangled dangerously from the footboard.
In a desperate plea, the thief is seen warning the men attacking him that he would drag them down if they didn't back off. He eventually slips lower, and finally flings himself into bushes near the track.
The entire episode, filmed by a fellow passenger, quickly went viral, sparking widespread outrage and debate. Jamalpur Railway SP Raman Chaudhary told Aaj Tak, 'We are looking into the incident and trying to identify the individual seen in the video.'
चोरी करना ग़लत है…और उसकी सज़ा भी तय है।
लेकिन ट्रेन में पकड़े गए एक चोर को, जब वो डरकर भागा और दरवाज़े के बाहर लटक गया, तब उसे बचाने की जगह लोग अंदर से पीटते रहे… जैसे उसकी मौत का इंतज़ार कर रहे हों।😡 pic.twitter.com/xvUymFCnoT
— 𝙼𝚛 𝚃𝚢𝚊𝚐𝚒 (@mktyaggi) July 25, 2025
The video, which has garnered over five lakh views on X, has ignited a fierce conversation online. Some users expressed empathy for the man, while others condemned the soft-hearted takes.
One commenter said, 'Now people will sympathize with the thief but have you ever felt when your belongings get stolen, expensive phones, watch, money and many more not once but on a daily basis, his fate was decided.'
Another wrote, 'Koi insaan pura mahine mehnat karke 12000 ka mobile buy karta hai, aur aese log ek jhatke me chura lete hai. Jab inke ander koi manwata nahi toh inke prati bhi kisi ko koi samvedna nahi rakhni chahiye.' (When someone works hard all month to buy a phone worth Rs 12,000 and such people snatch it in a second, if they show no humanity, they deserve no sympathy either.)
However, not everyone took a hardline stance. 'Both are wrong—when someone's hard-earned money is stolen, only they know the pain. But there is a legal system for justice. No one should take the law into their own hands. In such cases, the thief's life could also be at risk,' another user said.