Every year, Mumbai’s Lalbaugcha Raja pandal draws lakhs of devotees, and with them, an army of pickpockets hoping to make quick money in the chaos. This Ganeshotsav, though, the thieves had to deal with an unlikely opponent, the AI cameras.
To handle the massive crowds, the Lalbaug Mandal deployed nearly 260 AI-powered cameras across the pandal and along the visarjan routes, according to a report by Free Press Journal. These smart cameras weren’t just recording the crowd, they were actively monitoring footfall, identifying known offenders, and flagging suspicious activity for the police.
The results were striking. Police officials revealed that the system tracked a staggering 25 lakh visitors over the course of the festival. Among them, AI tools helped trace at least 50 known criminals. The technology also picked up signals of nearly 27,000 Maratha agitators moving through the Lalbaug area, giving law enforcement a clear picture of crowd dynamics in real time.
But the real test came during immersion processions, when thefts spiked. Police confirmed 50 mobile thefts and seven chain-snatching incidents. Using AI footage as evidence, the Kalachowki police arrested 15 people, including members of gangs from Gujarat and Haryana who had specifically traveled to Mumbai for the festival season.
Mobile theft cases alone saw 10 FIRs registered, with three arrests and four phones recovered. In chain-snatching incidents, seven FIRs were lodged, 15 accused were caught, and valuables were recovered in two of the cases. Officers say the combination of AI surveillance and on-ground policing was key to these quick arrests.
Petty crimes during Ganeshotsav are not new. In fact, earlier this month during the arrival procession, 64 phones went missing. But this time, the police were better prepared. AI cameras allowed them to spot repeat offenders in real time and even nab eight pickpockets and six chain-snatchers red-handed during the visarjan.
The technology wasn’t limited to pandals either. Railway police, who had extra AI-enabled surveillance during the rush, managed to recover stolen phones at busy stations like Chinchpokli.
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