Malakpet police nab chain snatchers, recover Rs 11 lakh

Hyderabad: The Malakpet police arrested two chain snatchers and seized property worth Rs 11 lakh on Thursday, August 8, alongside the Commissioner’s Task Force (South-East) Zone.

The accused were identified as Mohammed Mahmood Shareef, 29, a mechanic and resident of Kurmaguda Madannapet, and Abdul Gaffar, 37, an Ola driver and resident of Santoshnagar. The accused were involved in seven cases of chain snatching, with cases registered against them under Vanasthalipuram, Malakpet, Langerhouz, Saroornagar, and LB Nagar.

Shareef and Gaffar are friends. In 2014, Shareef committed 10 chain snatchings under Saidabad police limits and was arrested for the same. In 2015, Shareef was arrested under the PD Act. After being released from jail, Shareef began working as a mechanic. Due to insufficient income, the accused planned to snatch chains and informed Gaffar about it.

In the first week of July, the two accused snatched a chain from a lady at the Srinivasapuram colony in Vanasthalipuram and fled. Similarly, both accused stole a mobile phone from a person in Dilsuknagar.

Later, they stole a bike from Tolichoki and attempted chain snatching from a lady at Saleemnagar under Malakpet police limits. Shareef and Gaffar used the stolen bike to commit the offence. In Saroornagar, the accused snatched a mobile phone and committed chain snatching from a lady in Moosarambagh later that night.

Following the thefts, Shareef visited a relative in LB Nagar and took their car. The two accused stopped at a petrol pump, filled the tank, and left without paying. The police seized gold weighing 51.50 grams, a car, two mobile phones, and two bikes from the accused.

The accused have been booked under various sections of the BNS, including 309(6),  303, 318(4), 303(2), 304 r/w 62, 309(4) BNS (392 IPC), 316(2), and 318(4).