An unidentified man has been booked by the Sion police for following an 83-year-old woman and snatching her gold chain worth ₹50,000. The incident, which was captured on CCTV camera, has left the senior citizen with a bruised hand.

On Friday, around 4.30pm, Ishaben Vora was returning to her residence, Kashi building in Sion, after visiting a Jain temple, located less than a kilometre away. “We suspect that the accused, possibly in his twenties, followed her from the temple to her building staircase,” said Pradeep Salekar, assistant inspector, Sion police station.

The accused pulled the woman from behind and snatched her chain although she tried to fight him off. “He pulled her gold chain from behind, but failed in the first attempt. A scuffle ensued, in which she was injured,” said Salekar.

The CCTV installed in the building premises captured the accused’s actions. “The ground floor of the building has four rooms, of which three were locked and the occupants in the other room were sleeping. So nobody could help her,” said Salekar. The police said they have scanned CCTV footages in the vicinity. “Investigation has revealed that the accused jumped over the compound wall and escaped on foot,” said Salekar. A case has been registered against him under section 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Senior citizens in the city have off late been victims of chain-snatchers. On January 16, a senior citizen died after she fell from a moving autorickshaw at Vakola signal, as a pillion rider tried snatching her gold mangalsutra. The rickshaw driver and the two accused had fled the spot.

According to statistics recorded by the Mumbai police, 112 such incidents have been reported till September. Of these, 62 cases have been detected. The police have been marking ‘chain-snatching points’ in their jurisdictions — which are hotspots of such crimes. The police are accordingly taking measures such as patrolling.

First Published: Nov 13, 2018 00:36 IST