Mumbai: ‘Chain snatchers killed my mother, should get death penalty’

Chainsnatching incidents donrsquot only lead to loss of the jewellery or phones for the victim sometimes it also proves to be fatal Several people have lost lives during their altercations with criminals midday spoke with the family members of one such victim who said they want death penalty for the snatchersGhatkopar resident Sahabai Ubale 52 lost her life after criminals grabbed her chain and dragged her to the road in September 2020 Ubalersquos family members said that she had sustained multiple skull fractures and succumbed to the injuries after suffering for 8 days The accused were nabbed by Pant Nagar police officers and have been lodged in jail sincelsquoSuffered for 8 daysrsquoUbalersquos son Bhimrao Bhalerao told midday ldquoMy mother suffered from a lot of pain and died in the hospital The accused dragged her on the road while snatching her gold chain She sustained injuries including multiple fractures to her skull The snatchers killed my mother and fled We didnrsquot even get a chance to talk to her for the last time This incident should not be treated as a chainsnatching case but as a murder case The accused should get death penalty for the heinous crimerdquoAlso readMumbai This festive season watch out for these top 26 chainsnatchersFamily members of Sahabai Ubale at their residence in Ghatkopar PicRajesh GuptaldquoOur entire family is still reeling under the trauma of this incident The doctors performed multiple operations on her skull As it was during the COVID19 lockdown we were not even allowed to enter the hospital and meet my mother In fact two days after she was admitted there she tested positive for COVID too The incident took place on September 6 and she died on September 14 after suffering for 8 daysrdquo he addedPant Nagar police arrested four accused in the casemdashMohamad Yashin Hanif Khatri 20 the snatcher Waris Shaikh 24 the rider Mohd Faiz Khan 18 who helped them flee and Mohd Hamid Yusuf Shaikh 32 who helped in selling the chainlsquoStill in shockrsquoMajority of the victims of chainsnatching cases are women as a lot of them wear chains or mangalsutras Seema Verma a 38yearold Vile Parle resident said ldquoI am a victim of snatching but the accused snatched my mobile phone not jewellery I was returning from my sisterrsquos home when two people on a bike stopped their vehicle in front of me and asked for directions When I was telling them how to reach their destination they snatched my phone and fled I immediately rushed to the police station and registered an FIR but no action has been taken yet The police didnrsquot even bother to investigate the matter I was left traumatised and shockedrdquoViral message warns citizensSince the Navratri festival started a message has been doing the rounds on social media asking citizens to be vigilant in the face of an uptick in such crimes The message read ldquoRed Alert Guys Vile parle is now becoming unsafe Within a week 45 incidents of chain snatching mobile snatching robbery at house have happened at Subhash Road Irrespective of CCTV footage FIR police canrsquot take any action against the thief They are doing it regularly and roaming fearlessly in our area These incidents can cause someonersquos death My phone got snatched and my eye got hurt On the same day 2 more incidents happened Please inform your children and family members to be very careful while walking on the road If these incidents can happen fearlessly we have a big question on the safety of children senior citizens and family members as most of the senior citizens in Vile Parle live alone in the house Canrsquot understand that despite CCTV cameras why canrsquot police take any action and scald these rascals sicrdquo06Day in September 2020 when the incident took place