Thane: 1 chain snatcher arrested, 10 cases solved

The Thane police have recovered gold worth R3.13 lakh from the chain snatcher.

The Thane police arrested a 40-year-old thief involved in a string of chain-snatching cases. The suspect identified as GulamAli alias Nadar Sartaj Jaffari, 40, is suspected to be involved in 10 recent cases, including the one in which he was arrested, of chain snatching in Thane and police recovered gold ornaments worth R3.13 lakh from his possession. According to the police, Jaffari is a resident of Ambivli near Kalyan and is a habitual criminal. The police said Jaffari has been booked in 45 cases. As a result of Jaffari's continued engagement in chain-snatching activities, he has been arrested on several occasions.

Following a chain snatching incident in March 2024, a case was lodged under sections 392 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code at the Kapurbawadi police station. "After the case was registered the Thane crime branch Unit 5 started investigation and gathered technical details and CCTV footage. The footage revealed Jaffari as the suspect. Accordingly, a team led by Vikas Ghodke, senior police inspector, crime branch unit 5, started gathering information to trace the suspect. Based on information from sources Jaffari was detained," said a police officer.

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Ghodke after the suspect was arrested and during investigations the police found that Jaffari was involved in ten recent cases of chain snatching in Thane. "Five of the cases were in Kapurbawadi, two in Kalwa and Naupada and one in Srinagar. We have recovered 83 grams of gold ornaments worth R3.13 lakh from him. He was in police custody in the first case. Now he is under investigation," said Ghodke.

The police during the investigation found Jaffari has been booked in 45 cases of chain snatching. "He has been booked in cases across Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Ahmednagar, Nashik, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan, and states like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu among others. "Jaffri's modus operandi is always the same. He is accompanied by a biker. They both keep a watch and target women walking alone on a lonely street," said a police officer.

The police said they would try to bust the syndicate as usually, the snatchers have a group where the biker searches for the target while other family members are involved in selling gold. Besides, the jeweller involved in purchasing gold ornaments will be investigated further by the police.