Blinkit Delivery Boy Turns Chain Snatcher To Recover Money Lost In Online Gambling, Rs 7.9L Gold Recovered

A 24-year-old Blinkit delivery boy allegedly turned to chain snatching to fund his online gambling habit, targeting women pedestrians while off-duty, police said. He was arrested by two Crime Branch Unit-1 constables in Vashi while allegedly scouting for his next target. The accused has been identified as Kumar Babu Chavan, a resident of Bonkode in Koparkhairane. He was remanded to police custody till October 1.

Police have also named a Koparkhairane jeweller, Jagdishchandra Ramchandra Kumawat, 33, as a co-accused for allegedly purchasing the stolen gold ornaments from Chavan.

According to police, Chavan's arrest helped crack eight chain-snatching cases — five registered in Sanpada, two in Vashi and one in Koparkhairane. Police recovered eight gold mangalsutras and chains weighing 68.84 grams and valued at around Rs 7.92 lakh. A scooty allegedly used in the crimes, worth around Rs 50,000, was also seized.

Vikas Ghodake, senior inspector of Crime Branch Unit-1, said Chavan was addicted to online gambling games on his mobile phone. Police alleged that after losing money, he began snatching gold chains and mangalsutras from women, selling the stolen ornaments to jeweller Kumawat and using the proceeds to gamble again in a bid to recover his losses and make a profit.

Police described the alleged cycle as: 'Robbery-Online Gambling-Losing Money-Robbery.'

ACP (Crime) Bhausaheb Dhole said, "Due to frequent chain snatchings in Sanpada, Koparkhairane and Vashi areas, the Crime Branch Unit-1 was entrusted with a parallel probe. Multiple teams closely examined the crime scenes and the robber's escape route after targeting women pedestrians. The suspect was zeroed in on by scanning several CCTV camera footages. From his attire, body language and the grey scooty used in the crime, on September 25, around 6.40 pm, the suspect riding his scooter, wearing a helmet, was spotted in Sector 7, Vashi. As constables Chandrakant Kadam and Sagar Sonwalkar signalled at him to stop, he attempted to speed away. The constables blocked his way and caught him when he struggled to free himself. But he was overpowered and escorted to Vashi police station."

Further investigation is underway to establish the full extent of Chavan's alleged involvement and trace the stolen ornaments recovered from the jeweller.