The Railway Protection Force (RPF) of the Hyderabad division (South Central Railway), during a special drone surveillance operation, apprehended a history-sheeter involved in theft of passenger belongings at Yakutpura railway station.

The operation was carried out by the all-women ‘Pink Patrol’ led by trained UAV pilots, officials said on Tuesday (May 19, 2026)

The suspect was identified after he was seen moving suspiciously within the station premises, staying unusually close to passengers in a manner indicating possible criminal intent. The surveillance combined aerial drone monitoring with ground-based decoy checks during vulnerable hours along MMTS sections.

Upon search, RPF personnel recovered a suspected stolen mobile phone valued at approximately ₹28,000, found without a SIM card. A packet containing marijuana and a strip of sleeping pills were also seized from his possession.

Further verification revealed that the individual is a known history-sheeter with multiple cases registered against him at a local police station, including attempt to murder, house-breaking and theft.

The accused, along with the recovered items, was taken to the RPF Post at Kacheguda and later handed over to the Government Railway Police (GRP), Kacheguda, for further investigation and legal action.

Since the launch of the ‘Pink Patrol’ last month, RPF has registered 388 cases related to unauthorised entry into ladies’ coaches, along with 69 cases against trespassers and suspicious individuals on railway premises.

Two theft cases have been detected, with stolen property worth approximately ₹92,480 recovered. The drone team has also solved one stone-pelting case, leading to the offender’s arrest.

“We are expanding Pink Patrol operations with increased drone deployment, intelligence-driven monitoring, and women-led surveillance across vulnerable MMTS sections. Women passengers should contact Helpline 139 in case of emergencies,” Senior Divisional Security Commissioner Debashmita C. Banerjee said in a press release.