Four chain-snatchers, cop held

Four persons, alleged to have been involved in several cases of chain-snatching, and a policeman have been arrested by Cyberabad Police today and around 1.13 kg of gold was recovered from them. With the arrests, police claimed to have solved 46 cases. "Two chain-snatching offenders Mohammed Ahmed and Mohammed Farooq, along with constable K Mohan who assisted them and abetted commission of five chain snatching under Cyberabad Commissionerate limits, have been arrested. Police have recovered 10 tolas (100 grams) of gold from them," Cyberabad Police Commissioner C V Anand told reporters. The officer said Mohan, while working as a crime constable at Narayanaguda police station, developed good rapport with Farooq while he was in custody. "After remand, the constable visited the jail for a 'mulakath' (meeting) with Farooq. He arranged bail expenditures and co-operated to release him on bail," the Commissioner said. Farooq has said that Mohan insisted him to commit theft for returning him the money which he had spent for his bail, and in return asked the cop to get his colleague Ahmed released, the top cop explained. "As such Mohan approached Ahmed at 'jail mulakath' and also arranged bail for him. After getting both the offenders released on bail, the constable illegally provided them one bike which was an abandoned vehicle at Narayanaguda police station and encouraged them to commit snatchings," Anand said. Accordingly, the accused duo committed five chain snatchings and the stolen property was distributed between the offenders and the police constable. In another case, a chain snatcher identified as Waseem Osman Sayed, belonging to Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, was apprehended by police who during interrogation confessed to committing 22 chain snatchings along with his associate Hyder Gareebshah Irani who is absconding. The duo allegedly committed several chain snatchings in Pune, Shirdi, Ahmednagar, Nasik and in some places of Tamil Nadu. Gold ornaments weighing 43.5 Tolas (435 grams) were recovered from them and 22 cases committed under different police stations here have been detected. In another case, a chain snatching offender D Ramprasad, who allegedly committed 19 snatchings in the limits of Cyberabad and Hyderabad Police Commissionerates and in Medak district of Telangana, was arrested and police recovered 60 tolas (600 grams) gold from him, the commissioner said.