It was a T-shirt which proved the undoing of a notorious chain snatcher who along with his three accomplices was arrested by the crime branch unit of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police.
Alarmed by the rise in chain snatching cases in the Vasai-Virar belt, the crime branch unit was deputed to nab the culprits who zoomed around on bikes and targeted pedestrians, especially women and senior citizens. The team led by Police Inspector Pramod Badhaak under the supervision of DCP (crime) Dr. Mahesh Patil scanned footage captured by Close Circuit Tele-Vision (CCTV) cameras installed in and around the crime scene and possible getaway routes.
“One of the suspects attracted our attention as he was wearing the same T-shirt when his image was captured by CCTV cameras of some crime spot. We scanned footage from Vasai to Bhiwandi and finally zeroed in on a duo, one of their accomplices was nabbed from a village in Telangana,” said Badhaak.
The trio have been identified as Ramkishan Hirarlal Paliwal alias Ramesh (30), Lokesh Hemraj Bohra (39) and Sriniwas Gaajula (48)- all residents of Bhiwandi. Their interrogation led to the arrest of Dinesh Jain (49) who turned out to be the buyer of the stolen booty. The trio have confessed to their involvement in 13 chain snatching cases committed by them in the jurisdiction of the Arnala, Virar, and Nallasopara police stations, but the number could be much higher.
Apart from the bike used in the crimes, the police team also recovered gold ornaments worth more than Rs. 15 lakh from the possession of the accused who have been remanded to police custody.
“Paliwal who is the kingpin of the gang is an expert biker. It has also come to light that the gang committed the crimes to fund their addiction to gambling,” said an officer. Further investigations were underway.
