Mumbai:
In two separate incidents in Samta Nagar in Kandivli and Gokul Dham in Goregaon, two thieves swallowed the chains they fled with; while one was made to throw up the object, the other was given laxatives to pass it out.
In the incidents which took place over two days, two chain snatchers gulped down the gold chains they had appropriated in a bid to elude the long arm of the law. In both cases, however, the desperate attempts at concealment proved futile, with cops arresting the petty criminals and also recovering the stolen and swallowed booty.
In the first incident that took place in Samta Nagar in Kandivli on Tuesday, a 25-year-old man was walking along the pavement, when the chain snatcher grabbed his one-tola gold chain worth Rs 30,000. The victim raised an alarm and started running after the thief. After tailing the man for 1.5 kilometres, he chanced upon a police combat van, in which four constables were on duty. The constables took up the chase, and nabbed the fleeing man. They identified the chain snatcher as Anwar Shaikh (25), a resident of Kandivli (East). Shaikh is an out-of-work driver.
When the constables asked Shaikh to return the chain, he said he had no idea where it was. The cops began scouring the drains, the roads nearby, and even Shaikh's person for the stolen object, but in vain. Suspecting that Shaikh had swallowed it, they forced him to drink salt water and regurgitate the chain.
"We have arrested Shaikh and are investigating the matter further," said Anant Kenjele, senior police inspector of Samta Nagar police station.
Chain reactionThe following day, a woman named Neelam Moriya was on her way home to Gokul Dham, Goregaon (East), when a man snatched her 15 g chain and locket, worth Rs 45,000. Her husband cried out and ran after him. The chain snatcher was nabbed soon with the help of beat marshals.
When the robber Javed Baksh (26) was searched, the marshals failed to find the chain on him, and let him off.
But suspecting foul play, they summoned him again. Baksh was then sent for an X-ray, which revealed that he had swallowed the chain.
Baksh was rushed to Bhagwati hospital, where he was given medication. On Wednesday, he passed the chain out. "We have arrested Baksh, who is a repeat offender. This was the second time the woman had her chain snatched," said Vinay Kakde, senior inspector of Dindoshi police station.