Brothers ‘committed’ 51 chain snatchings to feed drug addiction

1,142 gm of gold jewellery worth ₹34 lakh recovered; mother arrested for disposing of stolen valuables

Game is up: City Police Commissioner Mahesh Chandra Laddha taking a look at the seized jewellery in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

In a major haul, the City Police have arrested two youngsters, both siblings, for their alleged involvement in 51 chain snatching cases reported from various parts of the district.

The investigation thus far has revealed the details that are not less than disturbing. According to police, the two brothers— Y. Chandra Sekhar (30), who has completed ITI (electrical) and Y Gopinath (28), a B.Tech graduate— residents of Nellimukka area under Peda Gantyada police station limits, had started committing the offences to make easy money to feed their addiction to Fortwin, a narcotic analgesic.

Since December 2016, the brother duo have allegedly stolen 1,382 gram of gold of which gold chains weighing 1,142 gram worth around ₹34 lakh have been recovered by the police.

It is not all. The mother of the accused Y. Sarojini was also arrested on charge of disposing of the stolen jewellery. Their father is said to be a contract worker in Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. Police said that they were yet to ascertain his role in the crime.

Crime chart

“Gopinath has allegedly committed 22 offences, while Chandrasekhar was wanted in 11 offences. Both have allegedly committed 18 chain snatchings jointly. The accused are allegedly involved in 21 cases reported from Gajuwaka, five from Duvvada, four from Steel Plant area, six from MVP Colony, four from New Port area, two from Malkapuram, Gopalapatnam, Munagapaka, Pendurthy, III-Town each and one reported from Kancharapalem, V-Town, Malkapuram police station limits each,” City Police Commissioner Mahesh Chandra Laddha told the media here on Wednesday.

Modus operandi

Gajuwaka Inspector (south crime sub-Division) Avatharam said that the accused made a vain bid to snatch gold chain in December 2016, but the police let them off after issuing a warning.

Explaining the modus operandi, Mr. Avatharam said that the accused would conduct a recce in an area to finalise their escape route and commit the offences on the weekends.

“The brother duo would use shirts which can be worn from both the sides and use black helmets while committing the offence. The bike-borne chain snatchers would reverse their shirts after relieving their targets of the valuables to evade police,” Mr. Avatharam explained.

‘CCTVs helped crack case’

CCTV cameras helped crack the chain snatching cases, City Police Commissioner Mahesh Chandra Laddha said.

“In view of the spurt in chain snatching cases, police teams had maintained a strict surveillance for days and busted the gang finally. The accused were identified from the CCTV footage gathered from many areas and their modus operandi was revealed. Almost 90 % of the stolen valuables have been recovered,” he said.

Mr. Laddha further said that another 38 chain snatching cases registered since December 2016 are yet to be solved.

“We are suspecting the involvement of gangs from north India in such crimes. Our teams are working to nab the offenders at the earliest,” the Police Commissioner added.