Food delivery executives arrested in chain-snatching case in Mira Road

Based on CCTV footage, the police arrested the accused within 24 hours.

Two food delivery executives have been arrested for allegedly snatching a mangalsutra, worth around Rs 4 lakh, from an elderly woman who was out for morning walk in Mira Road, near Mumbai, on Friday.

According to sources from the Crime Branch Unit-1 of Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police, the accused targeted the woman because she was alone and appeared vulnerable. The incident was captured on CCTV.

The accused have been identified as Neeraj Rajnut, 25, and Sunil Raj, 22. "Both of them are siblings and had been living in Mira Road for the past 10 years. They are food delivery executives who work till late at night. During interrogation, they revealed that they decided to commit the offence because they were reeling under a financial crisis," a senior crime branch officer told mid-day.com.

On Friday, two motorcycle-borne youth accosted the complainant, Madhavi Gorupuni, on a deserted lane, finding her walking alone on the stretch.

"One of the accused got off the motorcycle, approached her, and snatched her mangalsutra. The duo then fled the scene," said an officer privy to the investigation.

The woman approached the police, following which an offence was registered at Mira Road Police Station under sections 309 (4) (robbery) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against two unknown people.

After the registration of a first information report (FIR), the Crime Branch Unit -1, led by inspector Pramod Badakh, began conducting a parallel investigation into the matter and arrested both the accused within 24 hours of the incident, said a senior officer from MBVV Police.

"We scanned more than 50 CCTV cameras to check the routes which both of them had taken to escape from the crime scene and finally managed to arrest them within 24 hours," said a senior crime branch officer.

Both the accused are natives of Rajasthan. The investigators are probing if they are first-time offenders or have committed crimes in the past, too.