35-yr-old snatches chain, falls into cops’ lap

The VP Road police arrested a 35-year-old habitual chain snatcher after a dramatic chase in Girgaum yesterday night.

The VP Road police arrested a 35-year-old habitual chain snatcher after a dramatic chase in Girgaum on Sunday night.

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The accused was held after the two-wheeler he was riding skidded, forcing him to try and escape on foot. As he made his way over bamboos put up to renovate a building, he fell on the ground from the first floor.

The police said that the arrested accused, Ibrahim Naseem Shaikh, has similar cases pending against him in several police stations in south Mumbai.Shaikh was elusive as he would flee to Hyderabad, to his wife and five children, after committing the crimes. The Tulsiwadi, Tardeo resident would then remain untraceable until much later, police said.

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However, he ran out of luck on Sunday night as he was nabbed by the police, minutes after he robbed 59-year-old Pushpalata Saalgar, a former BMC employee, on Jaggannath Shankar Sheth road in Girgaum.

Hearing the commotion, two patrolling constables rushed to the spot and chased Shaikh. “He climbed over the bamboos of Mhatre building, which is undergoing renovation. But one of the bamboos gave way and Shaikh came crashing to the ground,” said another officer of VP Road police station.

The police recovered Saalgar’s 15 gram gold chain worth Rs 45,000 from Shaikh’s possession and booked him for committing robbery.