Chain snatcher knifed woman eight times over imitation jewellery

The accused got angry and could not understand what he should do to flee from the spot before he could be caught, so he started stabbing her

Thane: A mother of three suffered eight cuts on her body, including her neck, when a chain snatcher tried snatching her chain, which incidentally was imitation jewellery, when she tried to flee in Kalyan.

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The accused has been identified as Ashwin Sadafule, 32, a security guard who started chain snatching after losing his job and was arrested on Wednesday.

The incident occurred when the victim, Priya Sawant, 32, was walking towards her daughter’s school to pick her up. While walking, she was on a call with her mother, and the snatcher came from behind and tried to snatch her chain.

Sawant immediately reacted and held the snatcher’s hand and tried to get away from his hold. The accused got angry and could not understand what he should do to flee from the spot before he could be caught, so he started stabbing her.

Sawant was severely injured on her neck and hand due to which could not speak and was admitted to the hospital.

Her husband, Amol Sawant, who is trying to manage his three young daughters and wife who is admitted to the hospital, said, “My wife was trying to protect herself as well as she held his hand to get a hold of him. Since she shouted for help once, the accused rigorously attacked her with a knife. There were eight cuts on her body from hands to neck. When she got cut on her neck, she acted as if she felt unconscious and fell off. But she managed to see his face without a mask and remembered his clothes too. She took the help of a passerby and called me. She profusely bled till I took her to the hospital. Her injuries were severe, so she was shifted to Kalwa Hospital for further treatment.”

The hospital informed the Khadakpada police, and they took details of the accused from Sawant and started to search for him. Khadakpada senior police inspector, Sarjerao Patil said, “Our team immediately started searching for the accused. Through the CCTV footage, we identified him. On Wednesday, we nabbed Sadafule from the Kalyan area. Sadafule worked as a security guard earlier, and after losing his job, he had recently taken to chain snatching for survival. Further investigation about his previous record is going on.”