Hardened chain-snatcher held, ornaments worth Rs 13 lakh found

A man, who had landed in Mumbai dreaming to make it big in the film industry, ended up becoming a hardened chain-snatcher, from whom the police have recovered ornaments worth around Rs 13 lakh, an official said on Friday.

The accused, Md Saif Azgar Ali (32), was arrested from Thane railway station a couple of days back for the chain- snatching incidents on the Mumbai-Panvel route, the senior police official said.

"During his interrogation, it came to light the Ali was a hardened chain-snatcher. He has been stealing 'mangalsutra' worn by women traveling in trains on the Konkan Railway route. After stealing the chains, he would hand them over to a man in Panvel," he said.

He has 16 cases registered against him at multiple police stations along the Konkan Railway route.

"We recovered gold ornamnets worth Rs 12.92 lakh from his possession," the official added.

"The accused is a native of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. He had landed in Mumbai some years back to become a model and a film star. But as he could not succeed, he went into depression due to financial constraints. Later, he turned to chain snatching as a means of livelihood," the official said.