Clean life too bumpy for vehicle thief-turned-auto driver in Ahmedabad

Could the bad state of city roads be responsible for a criminal’s return to the world of nefarious activities? Maybe yes! If it’s too hard to believe, here’s an example.

In his confession to Vastrapur police, one Asif Shaikh claimed that he was forced to discontinue driving his autorickshaw after he developed severe back pain. He then took to snatching gold chains as an alternate means of livelihood.  

Shaikh, 30, lives at Ekta apartment in Vatva with his family. Ten years ago, he was caught by police for vehicle thefts. After coming out from jail, he decided to turn a new leaf and started driving an autorickshaw.

A few months back, Shaikh developed minor pain in his back, but ignored it. However, when the pain became unbearable, he consulted a doctor, who advised him to discontinue driving the rickshaw.  

With no other means of income, Shaikh turned to chain snatching with the help of his friend Pathan, 20, a resident of Juhapura.

On Sunday night, the duo was spotted by Vastrapur police during patrolling when they were passing from Mansi circle on their Activa. It was the shoddy number plate text on the bike that had caught the attention of cops. The duo was nabbed after a brief chase.

According to Naim Khan Pathan, assistant sub inspector of Vastrapur, the duo was caught red-handed when they were about to snatch a chain from a woman.

“They started following a woman from Shivranjani and waited for the right moment to strike. They were waiting to reach a narrow lane with minimal human presence. Unfortunately for them. just before they could strike, we nabbed them” said Pathan. 

Investigation revealed that the duo was involved in four incidents of chain snatching, three in Ellisbridge and one in Vatva area. They used to sell the gold chains to a Vastral-based jeweler.

They even developed code words to mask their activities, referring to gold as ‘pila’, meaning yellow object. The duo has been handed over to Ellisbridge police.