To pay alimony to divorced wife, Nagpur man starts chain-snatching; arrested

Nagpur: An unemployed man in Nagpur took to chain snatching to pay court-ordered alimony to his divorced wife, police said.

The accused, identified as Kanhaiya Narayan Baurashi, a resident of Ganpatinagar in Mankapur, was arrested by the city crime branch during a probe into a recent robbery.

The matter came to light after a 74-year-old woman, Jayshree Jaykumar Gade, was robbed of her gold chain by a bike-borne thief in Manishnagar on February 22.

After the woman reported the incident to the police, a case was registered at the Beltarodi police station. During the investigation, technical surveillance and tip-offs led police to Kanhaiya, who later confessed to the crime.

Further interrogation revealed that he had committed four such robberies. Kanhaiya admitted he had resorted to chain-snatching as a desperate means to pay Rs 6,000 in monthly alimony to his first wife, as mandated by the court. Despite being jobless for two years, he had remarried during the Covid-19 pandemic, police said.

During the investigation, the police learnt that Kanhaiya had sold some of the stolen gold chains to a local jeweller called Amardeep Krishnarao Nakhate, who is the owner of Shri Sai Jewellers. Nakhate has also been arrested for purchasing stolen ornaments.

Police have also recovered a motorcycle, a mobile phone, and 10 grams of gold grains worth Rs 1.85 lakh during searches at locations as mentioned by Kanhaiya.

Both Kanhaiya and Nakhate are currently in custody and have been handed over to the Beltarodi police for further investigation.

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With inputs from Yogesh