KOCHI: Two recent chain-snatching cases, in which elderly women were attacked by bike-borne assailants in Kochi’s Thiruvankulam area, left police officers flummoxed. The crimes had taken place at around noontime, within a span of 30 minutes, on November 8.
In the first incident, 76-year-old Valsa was attacked near the Immanuel Marthoma Church in Thirvankulam, and the assailants sped away on a motorcycle after snatching her gold ornaments.
In the second incident, reported near Thiruvankulam Library within a few minutes, assailants struck Rama Jayakumar, 60, on her face. As she fell down, they fled with her gold chain.
Thanks to a smart and swift probe led by Hill Palace Station House Officer V Gopakumar, the police managed to nab an interstate gang consisting of three Punjab natives Nandakishore aka Bunti, Gurdeep Singh and Vikas Dadwal within one week.
“On the same day, there were four chain-snatching incidents in Kochi city,” says Thrikakkara Assistant Commissioner P V Baby who coordinated the probe. “Initially, we suspected that the same gang might be involved in all these cases. But when the investigation progressed, it was revealed that people from other states were involved in incidents within the Hill Palace station limits. Hill Palace SHO V Gopakumar immersed himself in the investigation.”
The first breakthrough came via a witness, who gave info on the motorcycle involved in the first incident to the police. Officers traced the vehicle’s owner, who turned out to be a building painter. His motorcycle had been stolen.
“We checked CCTV units in the locality from where the motorcycle was stolen,” says Baby. “We spotted three men roaming in the area our first set of suspects. We checked more CCTV units in the region to trace people with the same look and outfit. That led us to a tea shop, where the three men had stopped. Next, we tracked the UPI payments at that shop.”
Officers noted that one of the numbers being tracked was in transit towards Punjab. The ID owner was identified as Nandkishore, and the probe team immediately alerted Railway Protection Force in Agra Railway Station to intercept him.
Meanwhile, in the hunt for Gurdeep and Vikas, officers questioned over 1,000 migrant workers in Kochi.
“We found that the duo had recently worked at the BPCL refinery here for three months,” says an officer who was part of the probe. “We made the contractor call them to his office. They landed straight into our net.”
During interrogation, the accused spilled the beans on some other cases, too. “We suspect they have committed similar crimes in other states. Details have beeb transferred to the National Crime Records Bureau,” says Baby.