Cops nab thief who stole bike from court only to go on snatching spree

BHAYANDAR: The Local Crime Brach (LCB) unit of the Thane (rural) police have nabbed a notorious chain snatcher who is said to be involved in around 50 cases in Thane and Mumbai. Identified as Pradeep Banerjee (40), the accused had walked out of Thane Central jail three months ago after securing bail in a similar crime. Interestingly, immediately after his release, Banerjee brazenly stole a Honda Activa bike which was parked in the premises of the district sessions court which he later used to embark on chain snatching spree in and around the region. Alarmed by the spate of chain snatching cases, SP-Dr. Mahesh Patil deputed the LCB team to nab the culprit. Subsequently a team led by Sr.PI Vyenkat Andhale and API Pramod Badhakh under the supervision of Addl. SP Prashant Kadam, with the help of footages captured by CCTV cameras, analyzed the pattern of movements of the bike borne snatcher and realised that the miscreant was using a white coloured Activa bike, sans number plate to commit the crimes. Armed with the clue and hazy images, the police team intensified vigil and activated their informer network in and around the region and based on a tip-off zeroed it on Banerjee. After rounds of sustained interrogation, Banerjee who is a resident of Vasai in Palghar district confessed to his involvement in the chain snatching cases. The LCB team has also nabbed two others including Banerjee’s wife and a Santacruz resident identified as Kishore Laxmikant Das for selling and buying stolen ornaments respectively. Apart from the bike, 70 gms of stolen gold worth `2 lakh has been recovered from the possession of the accused police said. A case under the relevant sections of the IPC has been registered against the trio who have been remanded to custody. Further investigations were on.