4 Chain Snatchers Targeting Lone Elderly Women Held
Three other gang members, Shaik Shabbir, Shaik Baba, and Shaik Maktum Ali, remain at large, and police have launched a manhunt for them
WARANGAL: Ramagundam police arrested four gang members involved in a series of chain-snatching incidents targeting elderly women living alone and recovered 10 tolas of gold ornaments, ₹30,000 in cash, two motorcycles, and four mobile phones in Sultanabad, Peddapalli district, on Monday.
Circle Inspector G. Subba Reddy identified the arrested suspects as Shaik Yakub (19), Mohammad Sharukh Khan (31), Shaik Bashu (22), and Shaik Saidu (32), all residents of Ganapuram mandal, Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. Three other gang members, Shaik Shabbir, Shaik Baba, and Shaik Maktum Ali, remain at large, and police have launched a manhunt for them.
According to the police, the gang initially sold household items such as utensils in surrounding districts, Mancherial, Peddapalli, Siddipet, Jangaon, and Warangal, to fund temporary camps. They conducted reconnaissance in villages and mandals before snatching gold chains from elderly women and fleeing on motorcycles. The group carried out 10 such thefts, selling the stolen gold, including traditional “pustelu” chains, and dividing the proceeds among themselves.
After forming multiple teams, police tracked the suspects and apprehended them during a vehicle check at Kanukul Cross Road in Sultanabad. The four arrested individuals have been presented before the court, while efforts continue to locate the three absconding members.
