Pune: Within four hours of a chain-snatching incident near Pimple Gurav on Saturday afternoon, the Sangvi police arrested a 22-year-old man from Bhosari and recovered a gold chain worth Rs 1.80 lakh stolen from a 33-year-old woman.Despite sustaining neck injuries during the robbery, the woman chased the accused until he fled on a scooter. She later gave the police crucial details about the scooter’s colour and a name written on it. Using these leads along with CCTV footage, the police identified the vehicle, traced it to Bhosari and arrested the accused.The police recovered the stolen gold chain from the accused, Nilesh Dhotre (22), a resident of Gavane Vasti in Bhosari.“Dhotre has a criminal record. Cases of burglary and offences against the human body have been registered against him,” police sub-inspector Mahadev Bhalerao of the Sangvi police told TOI.According to the police, the complainant, a resident of Pimple Gurav, was waiting outside her residential building for her son’s school van around 3.30pm when Dhotre allegedly approached her and snatched her gold chain. “The woman suffered neck injuries in the incident. She ran after the accused, who had parked his scooter some distance away. However, he managed to escape before she could catch him,” Bhalerao said.The woman could not note the scooter’s registration number but remembered its colour and the name displayed on it. Police examined CCTV footage, identified the scooter and tracked down its former owner in Bhosari, who revealed he had sold it about a year ago. Acting on the information, officers reached the address, found the scooter parked outside and arrested Dhotre, recovering the stolen chain from his possession.Dhotre has been booked under Section 309 (robbery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation is underway.
