Accidental selfie of thief solves death mystery

Police in India solved the case of a citizen’s mysterious death after the suspect was accidentally captured by another man’s phone while filming a selfie video.

The incident occurred in the Indian state of Maharashtra’s Kalyan when a thief, who tried to snatch a train passenger’s phone, was accidentally recorded in the video, an Indian media outlet reported.

The suspect Akash Jadhav attempted to make the passenger lose his phone by slapping his hand while he was filming a selfie video on a moving train.

According to local police, Zahid Zaidi, the passenger, was clicking a selfie video when Jadhav tried to snatch his phone, however, he failed in his attempt.

Zaidi, on the other hand, managed to click Jadhav’s face and posted the video from his social media account in a bid to seek help from the police.

Meanwhile, the Kalyan Railway Police found the viral video and arrested Jadhav.

“On Tuesday, we arrested a suspect who had prior cases registered against him in Thane. We recovered a second mobile phone from him,” said a railway police officer.

The suspect was then investigated regarding the phone he had in his possession, he added.

The police later switched on the phone and found that the device belonged to a Pune resident.

The man, identified as Prabhas Bhange, had been killed after falling from a train at Vitthalwadi railway station on March 25. Police said that the cause of the fatal fall was not determined as they initiated an investigation.

When Jadhav was investigated, he confessed to snatching the phone from Bhange who fell from the moving train in an attempt to retrieve his phone.

“He was travelling from Kalyan to Pune. At Vitthalwadi station, Jadhav snatched his phone. To get his mobile phone back, Mr Bhange tried to get down from the train and fell to his death,” the police officer said.

The local police registered a first information report against the suspect and stepped up an investigation into the death of the Pune resident.