NEW DELHI: Two professional chain snatchers were arrested on Saturday after an investigation that involved scouring of footage from 20 CCTV and analysis of over 300 vehicles, police here said. The two accused had on Saturday morning attempted to snatch the chain of a 62-year-old woman who was out on a walk with her husband in the outer Delhi's Mianwali Nagar area.
The accused, riding a bike, were chased by the woman's husband, Dr Anil Bansal, but managed to escape, police said. Bansal and his wife were injured in the attack and approached the police.
The entire incident was captured on CCTV and was shared by many Twitter users. It showed two men on motorcycle coming behind the couple and trying to snatch the woman's chain. They fled the spot when her husband started chasing them.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Sameer Sharma said it was an attempt and the chain could not he snatched.
Sharma said that during their investigation police checked more than 20 CCTV cameras, prepared a likely route the snatchers may have taken, shortlisted 16 known snatchers and robbers, checked over 300 vehicles, and impounded 55 of them.
"On the basis of information obtained from recordings of around 25 cameras, multiple combinations of registration numbers were checked from records and the motorcycle used in the commission of crime was identified," he said.
Sachin, one of two accused, was nabbed from his house, and at his instance, his accomplice, Chiranjeev, too was held.
"The motorcycle used to commit the snatching was also recovered," Sharma said.
From Chiranjeev, police also recovered a mobile phone he had snatched from Paschim Vihar East area some time back. The two revealed that they had also snatched a bag, blue in colour, on Thursday. The bag too was recovered from their possession.
Explaining their routine, they told police that one of them, Sachin, tried to snatch the chain while Chiranjeev waited outside the colony. They had followed the same method on Thursday when Chiranjeev snatched the blue bag from a woman and Sachin drove them away after the loot, the DCP said.
Both accused were alleged to be addicted to alcohol and always in want of money.
Sachin is a delivery boy working with an online shopping retail store, police said, adding, that both men are being further interrogated.
