22 cases of chain snatching detected in Kalyan; two arrested

With the arrest of two persons and recovery of a booty of over Rs 10 lakhs, the Thane police claimed to have solved 22 cases of chain snatching in the Kalyan-Dombivili region.
Addressing a news conference at Kalyan yesterday, DCP Zone-III Dr Sanjay Shinde said the anti-chain snatching squad was working on these thefts since the last two months after which it finally zeroed on the alleged accused towards the end of May.
The modus operandi of the duo, identified as Rupesh Manohar Belekar, 35 and Pasha Khurshid Shaikh, 19 was to corner elderly women at the staircase of buildings and snatch away their chains and mangalsutra, he said.

The victims were pushed against the wall and when they are taken aback, the duo used to snatch the chains and flee from the scene.
Such incidents had caused a lot of panic among members of the fairer sex in the region, he said.
The police during interrogation recovered as many as 444 gms of ornaments including chains and mangalsutra worth Rs 8,05,900. The police also seized a Honda motorcycle Rs 55,000, cash of Rs 2,00,000 and also a AC worth Rs 25,000.
Offences under sections 394 rw 34 of the IPC had been registered against them with various police stations in the Zone, the officer said.