Chain snatchers run out of luck, held in Mumbai

Two robbers were injured in a road accident outside a garden at Mahim in the early hours of Tuesday when their scooter, on which they were escaping after snatching a 78-year-old woman’s gold chain, rammed into a parked car.

“Nadeem Kalyankar, 25 and Hanif Ahmed, 24, both were residents of Mahim.

They were arrested on charges of robbery after they were discharged from Bhabha Hospital in Bandra. After arresting the duo, the police recovered a stolen chain, a knife and the scooter,” said inspector Vinay Kulkarni, Mahim police station.

He added that duo will produced in the metropolitan magistrate’s court on Wednesday.

Preliminary investigations reveal that Nadeem had been earlier arrested by Mahim police in 2007 in connection with a burglary.

The scooter they used to commit robbery belonged to Nadeem’s neighbour, said Kulkarni.

The incident took place at around 5.30am at Dhote garden near Hinduja Hospital at Mahim. Mahim resident Pramila Gaitonde, 78, had gone to garden as usual for her morning walk. Finding her alone in the garden, Nadeem threatened her with a knife and snatched her chain weighing 15gms and ran outside where his associate, Hanif Sheikh was waiting. The scooter they were on rammed into a parked car. The duo sustained serious injuries on their legs in the accident.

People from the nearby area rushed to the accident site and they thought duo had met with an accident. Someone admitted the duo in Bhabha Hospital.

In the meantime, a police van and the victim Gaitonde reached the spot. She narrated the incident to police and they went to hospital and nabbed duo after they were discharged, added Kulkarni.