Pune: A dramatic chase of over 15km led the Pimpri Chinchwad crime branch team to nab a chain snatcher in the Chakan area on Friday, linked to four chain snatching cases, four burglaries, and one vehicle theft in Pimpri Chinchwad. With the arrest of suspect Gaurav Sarode (24), a resident of Chakan, police recovered four gold chains and a scooter from him collectively worth Rs6.53 lakh. “Sarode has two cases of chain snatching against him registered with the city police and one burglary with the rural police,” assistant commissioner of police (crime) Vishal Hire of the Pimpri Chinchwad police told TOI. According to Hire, chain snatching cases were reported on Aug 30 and Sept 1 in Ravet and Chikhali, respectively. Thereafter, a crime branch team led by senior police inspector Vijay Dhamal checked footage from over 400 CCTV cameras. “The team found that the chain snatcher was wearing hoodies while committing the crimes. In Ravet, he was wearing a red hoodie; in Chikhali, the colour of his hoodie was blue,” Hire said. The officer said PI Dhamal and assistant police inspector Dattatreya Guling traced the snatcher at Chakan and laid a trap there. “When the suspect noticed he was trapped, he started driving off. Our team chased him for 15km and caught him,” Hire added. Sarode had allegedly stolen the scooter from the Talegaon MIDC area. He also admitted to his involvement in two more chain snatching cases, four burglaries in Pimpri Chinchwad, two chain snatchings in Pune, and one burglary at Shikrapur. “Our investigations are on,” said Hire.
