How cops caught a thief via a torn poster on his borrowed rickshaw
The autorickshaw used in the chain-snatching incident captured on CCTV, with a partially torn poster on its rear emerging as the key clue in the investigation. Pics/By Special Arrangement
What criminals tried to erase with grease was revealed by paper. A torn poster on an autorickshaw became the key clue that helped police bust a chain-snatching gang operating in north Mumbai. The MHB Colony police have arrested two men in connection with the January 21 chain-snatching incident in IC Colony, Borivali West, where a senior citizen was targeted while walking to a temple.
The accused allegedly snatched a gold chain from the woman’s neck and fled within seconds in an autorickshaw. To execute the crime, the main accused used an autorickshaw belonging to his friend. In an attempt to evade detection through CCTV cameras, the duo smeared grease over the vehicle’s number plate to conceal the registration number.
The autorickshaw identified by police during the probe, which was used by the accused
However, a small detail they overlooked ultimately led to their arrest. While scanning footage, police noticed a partially torn poster pasted on the back of the autorickshaw. The distinctive tear helped them trace the vehicle’s movement, leading them to identify the suspects.
The arrested men were identified as Sanjeev Murlidhar Gupta, 43, a resident of Dnyaneshwar Nagar, Dahisar East, and Raj Narayan Chhotelal Sharma, 35, an autorickshaw driver from the same locality.
Sanjeev Murlidhar Gupta; (right) Raj Narayan Chhotelal Sharma, the autorickshaw driver arrested in the chain snatching case
The complainant, Vasanti Ramakrishnan Iyer, 70, was attacked around 7.40 pm on January 21 while entering Jaigurudev Bhavan Cooperative Housing Society near the Ayyappa Temple in IC Colony, Borivali West. The accused allegedly snatched her gold mangalsutra weighing about 25 grams, valued at nearly Rs 1 lakh, and fled in the waiting autorickshaw. Two days earlier, on January 19, another chain-snatching incident was reported in the Charkop police jurisdiction, where two men on a motorcycle robbed a 44-year-old of gold chains weighing nearly 40 grams.
With two cases reported within 48 hours, panic spread across Zone XI. In response, Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Jadhav formed special detection teams drawn from Malad, Kandivali, Charkop, MHB Colony and Goregaon police stations. According to police, CCTV footage captured the autorickshaw involved, though the registration number was obscured. Officers analysed multiple camera feeds and used technical and mobile tracking to identify the driver, who later revealed the identity of the main accused, Gupta.
Both the accused in police custody. Pics/By Special Arrangement
Gupta was arrested from a parking area near a paan shop in Borivali, where he was working as a valet. Police said he had been arrested in a similar case in November last year and was recently released on bail. Police said Gupta followed the victim on foot while the autorickshaw moved alongside. After stopping ahead, he snatched the chain and escaped in the vehicle. Though grease was smeared on the number plate, the torn poster on the autorickshaw exposed the gang.
Police later confirmed that the Charkop case involved different accused, who have since been identified. Teams have been dispatched to arrest them. The accused were produced before the court and remanded to police custody. Recovery of the stolen gold is underway, and the autorickshaw used in the crime has been seized.
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