Gutsy 24-year-old woman fights back chains snatchers, puts one behind bars

A 24-year-old woman fought back three chain snatchers and managed to get one arrested in Malad on Wednesday night. The two others were arrested on Friday.

For Madhuri Maske fighting off criminals comes naturally. About a year ago she chased down a chain snatcher and got him arrested.

On Wednesday around 8.15pm, Maske was walking back alone from her workplace in Oberoi Mall to her home in Kurar village when three teenagers accosted her. "One of them snatched my chain... the three assaulted me and I fell down," she said. "But I pulled myself up and grabbed one of them by the collar. The other two fled with the chain."

She did not give up. While holding on to the man she started yelling. Soon people gathered and the boy, Imresh Giri, 19, was taken to the Kurar police station where he was arrested.

Maske, who works as a salesgirl in a store in the mall, showed the same courage about a year ago. "My mother and I were returning from a wedding in an autorickshaw. On the Pathanwadi bridge in Kurar, a biker snatched my mom's mangalsutra and sped off. But I did not give up... We followed his bike for more than a kilometre and I noted down the bike's registration number and informed the police. He was soon arrested... I was determined to nab him."

After Wednesday's incident, the officers of the Kurar police station rewarded the brave woman. They arrested the other two, Himanshu Malvia, 17, and Roshan Shaikh, 17, on Friday. The stolen chain has been recovered.

"We are very proud of her. We would like more citizens to come forward and help the police. We want them to bravely fight back criminals so that they think twice before committing a crime," PV Ugale, DCP, Zone 12, said.