TWO CHAIN SNATCHERS ARRESTED, 17 CASES SOLVED

NAVI MUMBAI: The Navi Mumbai crime branch (unit 1) claimed to have solved as many as 17 chain snatching cases with the arrest of two people who had been operating in the city for the past few months.

The police have recovered stolen jewellery worth Rs8.26 lakh and one two-wheeler from their possession.

Acting on a tip-off, the police recently arrested the first accused, Ankush Ashruba Jadhav, 37, from Nevali Naka in Thane. Apart from chain snatching, he was also involved in several house break-in cases, a senior police officer said.

During interrogation Jadhav gave the investigating officers some details about his accomplices. Based on that, the police arrested the second accusedYasin alias Aslam alias Ismail Mokbul Khan, 32, a resident of Nalasopara.

“The suspect would roam around in the city on two-wheelers and target women walking on the roads. They would sell the stolen jewellery to people in Titwala and Jalgaon. In Navi Mumbai, they were actively operating in areas such as Vashi, APMC, Rabale, Kopar Khairane, Sanpada, Uran and Kamothe among others,” said Hemant Nagrale, police commissioner of Navi Mumbai.

The police are investigating the case to find out the other members of the gang and the people who would purchase stolen jewellery from them.

Nagrale said, “We are taking measures to clamp down on chain snatchers and to instill a sense of security among women. With chain-snatching cases less than last year’s in the first six months, we have achieved some success.”

“So far in 2016, we have arrested 26 chain snatchers of eight gangs. Many others are likely to in our net very soon,” he said.

Dilip Sawant, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said that they have had good detections in the first six months of this year.

“Street crimes have been reduced noticeably. The only thing that is bothering us is frequent road accidents in the city,” he said.