Mumbai Shocker: Film Artist Snatches Gold Chain From Elderly Woman, Held

An actor allegedly turned to crime amid financial troubles and was arrested for reportedly snatching a gold chain from an elderly woman inside her residence in Mumbai’s Santacruz area, police said on Monday. The accused has been identified as Ashish Attarchand Sharma, a resident of Santacruz (East). Police have recovered the stolen gold chain from his possession, news agency PTI reported.

According to a Vakola Police official, the case came to light after a complaint was filed by the woman’s family. An unidentified man had allegedly entered their residence on Sunday and snatched the gold chain from the neck of the complainant’s mother before fleeing.

"As the crime scene was located inside a congested chawl locality with no CCTV coverage or eyewitnesses, police faced initial hurdles. However, acting on a physical description provided by the complainant, investigators scanned CCTV footage from surrounding lanes and spotted a suspect moving suspiciously in a disguise near the area around the time of the incident," said sub-inspector Sushantkumar Patil.

Police then obtained a frame grab of the suspect and circulated his photograph among local intelligence sources in an effort to identify him, PTI reported.

Their efforts eventually paid off. Acting on information received from informants, a police team raided Shyam Sundar Chawl and apprehended Sharma.

During interrogation, Sharma allegedly told police that mounting financial difficulties had pushed him into committing thefts, the official said. Police are continuing their investigation into the case.

Sharma has reportedly acted in small roles in a couple of Bhojpuri films.