A 42-year-old man and his 16-year-old son were arrested after a hot pursuit of more than a kilometre on the Mankhurd flyover while the duo was fleeing after allegedly robbing a gold chain of a woman in Ghatkopar, police officials said on Friday. During the interrogation, the police unearthed that the accused, identified as Mohammad Afzal Shaukat Ali Qureshi, was providing practical lessons on chain snatching to his minor son when they were nabbed.
According to the police, Qureshi used to ride the bike and choose a target, while his son, riding a pillion, used to snatch gold chains from the pedestrians. “In the last 15 days, the father-son duo has committed eight chain snatching offences – two in the jurisdiction of Vikhroli police station, three in Pant Nagar police station and one each in Nehru Nagar, Navghar and Ghatkopar police stations,” an officer from Nehru Nagar police station said.
One of the chain snatching incidents occurred on October 7 when two persons snatched the gold chain of the complainant, Pratibha Kadam, 55, near Suman Nagar bus stop near Annabhau Sathe bridge worth around ₹50,000 on Eastern Express Highway (EEH), Chembur. “The accused approached the victim on a bike and enquired about the road towards Kurla. Even before she could reply, the pillion rider snatched her gold chain from her neck, and the bike-borne thieves fled away,” the officer said. The case was registered in the Nehru Nagar police station against the unknown bikers.
Eventually, after the police observed an increase in chain snatching incidents in the eastern suburbs, they increased patrolling and officials were deployed on important entry and exit points on all major roads. The father-son duo were arrested after they allegedly committed a similar crime in the Pant Nagar area on October 17. “The duo was riding a black scooter, and immediately after receiving information about the chain snatching, the east region police control room alerted the patrolling staff and policemen deployed at the important points,” added the officer.
Meanwhile, the police rummaged through the CCTV footage and identified the duo, as their faces were clearly visible. The accused were seen fleeing towards Navi Mumbai.
Assistant police inspector Bhusan More alerted the police constables Swapnil Wankhede and Nikhil Waghmode, who were deployed near the Navi Mumbai exit. They identified the accused on the bike and tried to nab them, but seeing the policemen, the accused took a U-turn and returned towards the city. Assistant police inspector More chased the accused on the Mankhurd flyover bridge and managed to arrest them after chasing them for more than a kilometre.
According to the police, they found the stolen gold chain in the pocket of the accused, and later it was confirmed that it was the same gold chain snatched from the woman in Pant Nagar on October 17. “Qureshi was produced before the court and remanded in police custody till October 22,” deputy commissioner of police Hemraj Rajput said. The 16-year-old boy was sent to a child remand home.
Source: Hindustan Times
