Two serial chain-snatchers held in Delhi's Dwarka; stolen gold worth Rs 8 lakh recovered

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) The Delhi Police has arrested two people allegedly involved in over a dozen chain snatchings across Delhi's Dwarka and recovered stolen jewellery worth around Rs 8 lakh, an official said on Saturday.

The accused, identified as Jitender alias Punjabi (32) and Deepak Lohchab alias Fluidi (32), both residents of Najafgarh, were arrested on September 18.

On early morning and evening hours, the duo used to scout for women wearing gold jewellery, snatch the ornaments and flee on a motorcycle, police said.

Both the accused have previous involvement in over a dozen snatching and theft cases and are listed as bad characters at local police stations, he said.

According to police, the duo's arrest has helped solve six snatching cases, and led to one of the biggest recoveries of stolen gold ornaments in the capital this year.

"The team recovered six gold chains and ornaments worth approximately Rs 8 lakh and seized a motorcycle used in commission of the crimes," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh said.

The breakthrough came after a string of chain-snatching incidents were reported across Dwarka North, Mohan Garden and Najafgarh in recent weeks, Singh said.

During investigation, police analysed more than 400 CCTV cameras spanning seven police station jurisdictions and found that a particular motorcycle was repeatedly seen near multiple crime scenes, which led investigators to the suspects' trail, officials said.

Both the accused were subsequently arrested from Najafgarh area on September 18, the DCP said.

Police said Deepak had carried out several snatchings alone, including those at Dwarka North and Mohan Garden, while others were committed along with Jitender.

Further investigation is underway to trace the disposal channel of the stolen gold and to verify their involvement in other unsolved snatching cases across Delhi, police said. PTI SSJ SHS SHS RUK RUK