Duo snatches woman's phone after seeking address in Pune; one held

PUNE: The Loni Kalbhor police on Monday arrested a 39-year-old jobless man Raju Shendge in connection with the snatching of a mobile phone by two bike-borne men from a woman (22) in front of her home at Tardegaon on Saturday afternoon and are searching for his accomplice.
The duo approached the woman in front of her home and struck a conversation, claiming that they were finance recovery agents and wanted to know if her husband, who is a farmer, wanted to sell his tractor.
The woman then took out her cell phone and was calling her husband when the man riding pillion snatched her phone worth Rs 12,500 and the duo sped away.
The woman reacted swiftly by taking her mother-in-law’s phone and alerting her relatives about the incident. At least 10 to 12 of her relatives and family friends then chased the duo on their bike which resulted in the duo falling down.
However, the two men picked up their bike and managed to drive away but the registration number plate of their vehicle had fallen at the site.
“Later, using the number details, the police traced the bike owner at Kunjirwadi and he told them that he had given his bike to two friends. One of these friends Shendge was arrested,” said sub inspector Amit Gore on Monday.