Police track down four-member chain snatching gang, nab one

Coimbatore: A 19-year-old youth, who travelled to the city from Maharashtra and was involved in three chain snatching cases along with three of his accomplices in August, landed in police net on Thursday. He sustained fractures to his right leg and hand while trying to escape from police. He is admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH).A police officer identified the arrested person as Hussain Ali Sheik, of Guntakal in Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh. He was caught during a vehicle check near Saravanampatti. “On seeing police, Hussain attempted to escape on a stolen scooter and met with an accident.” G Chandeesh, deputy police commissioner, Coimbatore North, said the four-member gang had a unique modus operandi. “They travelled to different places from Maharashtra on trains and stole motorcycles to snatch gold chains from random women. While two of them would monitor the crowd on a two-wheeler, the remaining two would stanch chains. They always wore masks and helmets to hide their identities.” According to him, Malang Yasar Jafri, of Bhiwandi in Maharashtra, is the mastermind of the gang. “Other members of the gang include Pradhamesh, of Thane in Mumbai, and Sameer alias Chikku, of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. All of them are aged below 24 years.”The deputy police commissioner said they had formed four special teams to nab the four-member gang. “They scrutinized more than 200 CCTV footage and traced the identity of the four with the help of a footage from the city railway station. We shared their photos to the Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka and the Andhra Pradesh police. A cop from Maharashtra identified Jafri and based on the information we collected the details and address of the gang.”The special teams subsequently visited Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh to trace the suspects. Their efforts went in vain, as the gang often kept changing their locations.The officer said the gang was involved in three chain snatching cases in the city on August 25. “They then left for Mumbai. They visited Dharmapuri on August 30 and snatched two chains from as many women. Jafri paid Rs20,000 to the members for their involvement in the crime. We are going to freeze the bank account of Hussain Ali Sheik. The special teams are trying to trace the remaining three members of the gang.”.Jafri’s father Yasar Ali Jafar was involved in a dacoity at Variety Hall Road police station in 2010. He was convicted in the case in 2021 and sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment. He is lodged in the Coimbatore Central Prison.