Mumbai: Chain stolen at Bandra Fair, extracted at Sion

The couple with their kid in CCTV footage

A couple from Rajasthan has been arrested for stealing the gold chain of a 3-year-old girl at Bandra Mount Mary Fair on Saturday. While the police tracked down the wife-husband duo within a few hours of the crime, they could not immediately recover the gold as the man had swallowed it. He was taken to Sion hospital where doctors extracted it after an endoscopy.

The police said Nalasopara resident Filvy Narkar, his wife and daughter Taniya came to the Bandra Fair around 3.30 pm. The family prayed outside the church before visiting the fair. An hour later, they noticed that Taniya's chain was missing. The parents then approached the Bandra police.

A scan report showing the chain stuck in the man's stomach

"We checked the footage of the CCTV cameras at the venue and found a couple with an infant following Taniya. It showed the woman flicking the gold chain as she prayed. The man and woman then fled in opposite directions," said an officer from Bandra police station.

Armed with the footage, a team of PSI Sunil Kadam, ASI Sunil Ingvale, constables Santosh Gaikwad and Siddhant Chaugule, police Naik Atul Ahire fanned out across the area. "Around 5.20 pm, our team members identified the suspects and took them into custody. But we didn't find any gold chain from them. On questioning, the husband, Rakesh Mali, told us that he had swallowed it to avoid arrest." The wife was identified as Sita Mali.

The police took Rakesh to Sion hospital where doctors performed an endoscopy and removed the gold chain around 4.30 am on Sunday. Doctors said the gold got stuck in his digestive system.

Sita Mali who ran away with the chain; Rakesh Mali, who swallowed the chain

The officer said Rakesh and Sita are from Doodhwala Village in Rajasthan. They recently arrived in Mumbai with their 8-month-old son to steal gold from people visiting the Mount Mary Fair. They lived on a footpath near Virar railway station.

The police also found that the couple recced the area but were not successful in stealing anything over two days as there wasn't much crowd. The officer said, "We checked the crime records but didn't find anything against the couple in Mumbai. We are trying to find out if they have committed any crimes in other states. They will be produced in the court on Monday."