Mumbai Police arrest serial chain snatcher accused in 20 cases

The accused who was released on bail three months ago in a similar case, had earlier been booked in around 20 cases of snatchings across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai

A 23-year-old man who allegedly snatched the gold chain of a 40-year-old woman near Sion last week, was arrested from Mumbai’s Mankhurd locality after a four-day probe, police said Tuesday.

The accused was arrested after a four-day hunt.(Representative image)

The accused who was released on bail three months ago in a similar case, had earlier been booked in around 20 cases of snatchings across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, police said.

Police said they had launched a probe after a woman named Sunita Hindurao Patil. lodged a complaint on March 11 that she was robbed while she was she was waiting in front of her son’s school in Wadala.

“The accused came near her on a motorcycle and snatched the gold chain she was wearing. He fled from the spot with the chain which is worth ₹30,000. Patil then approached the police station at Wadala Truck Terminal and registered a complaint,” said Vidyasagar Kalkundre,senior police inspector, Wadala TT police station.

During the investigation, assistant police inspector Bhaskar Jadhav and his team members scanned CCTV footage in the vicinity of the crime scene.

“With the help of technical evidence and local informants we traced the accused to Cheeta Camp near Mankhurd. We arrested him on Sunday and recovered the gold chain. He is in police custody for four days,” said Jadhav.

Police said the accused identified as Shoeb Abdul Mateen Shaikh, has been a habitual chain snatcher from his childhood.

“He has around 20 cases against him across Mumbai including Govandi, Jogeshwari, Navi Mumbai and Thame area. He was release three months ago in a case registered with Vashi police station. He spent the money from the robberies on drugs and lavish life,” the police officer said.