NEW DELHI: After 1,392

were reported in

in 2017,

knew that it had to take

to bring down the count. After special drives, just 497 cases were reported in 2018, with around 94% of these involving

. In 2017, the women’s share was 85%.

After the 2017 count jolted

(CISF), which looks after the metro security, officials started identifying suspects using both human intelligence and CCTV cameras, and stopped them from entering the premises right at the entrance. According to a senior CISF official, more staff were deployed at the 236 metro stations and additional personnel, both men and women, were posted at vulnerable spots to catch pickpockets red-handed.

The police had also stepped in with a special team of four constables that kept a check at metro stations with high footfall, favourite targets of these gangs. These cops, dressed in civvies, moved in and around stations to keep an eye on pickpockets and snatchers. In 2017, 1,292 women and 100 men were caught while in 2018, the numbers are 470 and 28, respectively.

According to CISF and police officials, women pickpockets board trains mostly from central Delhi and share a common modus operandi. Despite the dip, passengers should get cautious if they sense any abnormal behaviour by some women or someone ‘looking like a woman’, a senior cop said.

Men often cross-dress to get into the ladies coaches as women usually carry more expensive stuff than men, the officer said. They wear salwar suits and cover their heads, with babies often clinging to them, making it almost impossible for passengers to figure out that they are men dressed like women, he added.

Women pickpockets also often carry a child or travel in groups to con people. Taking advantage of the rush hours, one of them will open the zip of a bag and, on finding an opportune moment, another woman from the gang will then take out valuables and pass it over to other group members. This way, even if a victim suspects the woman, nothing can be found on her, an officer said.

These offenders usually board the metro from almost empty stations and deboard at crowded ones, taking advantage of the huge number of commuters, he added. Some of them even roam around on a platform to hand over a stolen item to another gang member.

Against an average of around 40 women pickpockets getting caught every month in 2018, April was the only month when nobody was nabbed. Mobile phones and laptops topped the list of stolen items.

DCP (metro) Dinesh Kumar Gupta said the special police team also had the job of analysing any security lapse or dark spot near the stations. They also ensure safety of women in and around the stations.