Caught on CCTV, 2 chain snatchers land in custody

Mumbai: The Dindoshi police have arrested two men on Wednesday for snatching a gold chain worth Rs 60,000 from a 70-year-old woman in Malad (east) last week. . They have been remanded to police custody till Monday. The police identified them from the CCTV footage retrieved from the compound of a residential building where the crime was committed in broad daylight. The police tracked the movement of the red bike used by the accused, which was seen in the footage, to zero in on them. The accused targeted the woman just before she was about to board the lift

According to sources, after the video of the incident went viral, the police tracked down the victim and registered a complaint against unknown persons under relevant sections of the IPC. During the probe, the CCTV footage revealed that the accused had used a red coloured Honda Hunk motorcycle to flee from the scene. The police then tracked the number of the vehicle, and identified the accused as Riyaz Shaikh (33) a resident of Mira Road and Aakash Naik (24), a resident of Nalasopara.

When the police reached their residence, the duo was untraceable. However acting on a tip off, the police tracked their movements and arrested one from Ghatkopar, and the other from Vasai. Shaikh and Naik had earlier been arrested by Thane police and lodged in Thane jail from February 9 to 28.

Vinaykumar Rathod, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 12) said, “As the video had gone viral, it could have created fear in the minds of the people, hence tracing this accused was an important task for us. The accused persons were traced and arrested quickly and the probe is underway.

A further probe revealed that the accused had used the stolen Honda Hunk bike and had also stolen another bike, a red colour Honda Unicorn. The police were not able to recover the stolen chain but are trying to find out who the duo sold the chain to. The accused have previous cases registered against them at various police stations in Mumbai and Thane.