Mumbai: 10 policemen injured trying to nab chain snatchers

Accused Iqbal Irani/ Sourced Photo

Around 10 policemen were injured and a police constable ended up with a fractured hand when a team of 60 cops went to arrest three chain snatchers from the Ambivli area late at night on Wednesday. Local residents pelted stones at the policemen, resulting in two of the accused managing to flee. However, the police managed to arrest one of the accused - Ambivli resident Iqbal Irani - who has been involved in 35 cases of chain snatching across the city.

According to a police officer, the manhunt began after the accused snatched the mangalsutra of a 76-year-old woman in Andheri on November 1. Irani and another accused were on a bike when they stopped near the woman and snatched her mangalsutra worth Rs 80,000. They then sped off and the woman informed the Andheri police about the Incident.

The cops received concrete information that Irani and the two other accused visit an eatery daily for dinner and sleep together in the same house in the Ambivli area, which has a history of locals shielding criminals. The Andheri police, with help from the Khadakpada police, formed eight teams comprising a total of 60 policemen to make the arrests. An officer said that they had been conducting investigations for nine days to identify the accused and nab them.

Trio nabbed

The police teams visited the area around 11 pm on Wednesday night in tourist vehicles to avoid being noticed. When Irani and the other two accused reached the spot the cops nabbed the trio. However, the accused started shouting for help after which a mob gathered. The mob hurled stones and began assaulting the cops. In the chaos, two accused managed to escape while the police managed to hold onto Irani and arrested him. A police constable from Khadakpada police station was injured seriously and fractured his hand due to the incident while 10 officers were injured due to stone pelting.