As per the official data, 497 cases of pickpocketing were reported in the Delhi Metro in 2018 out of which 94 per cent involved women pickpockets. In 2017, 85 per cent of reported 1,392 cases had women pickpockets.
After the high number of cases reported in 2017, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which looks after the security in the metro, increased the staff to identify suspects and catch them red-handed, according to a report in The Times of India. Additional staff in civil clothes deployed at metro stations and CCTV cameras were used to stop the suspects from entering the station premises.
Reportedly, about 40 women pickpockets were caught every month in 2018. However, none was nabbed in the month of April. The items that they usually steal include cash, laptops, foreign currency, gold and cameras.
