Hyderabad: As many as 20 teams constituted by Telangana Police were on the lookout for two offenders suspected to be from Uttar Pradesh after a series of chain snatchings under the limits of Hyderabad and Rachakonda police commissionerates.
On the basis of CCTV footage, the police have identified the suspects as Pinku and Ashok of Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh. They committed as many as seven snatching in a span of three hours on Saturday in Hyderabad.
The same duo is suspected to be behind the series of chain snatching incidents in Bengaluru on Friday. After arriving in Hyderabad, they allegedly committed theft of a bike and struck at seven places targeting women.
After the chain snatchings, they left the stolen vehicle near Paradise. Police suspect that the duo escaped to Warangal by train and from there may have boarded a train bound for Delhi or some other destination in the north.
The police were scanning the CCTV footage at railway stations and working on other leads to make some progress in tracking down the culprits.
The duo had committed 10 chain snatchings in Bengaluru within a couple of hours on Friday morning. Police suspect that they arrived in Hyderabad by train. They committed the theft of a motorbike in the Nampally area early Saturday.
Wearing masks, the offenders reached Uppal where they resorted to first chain snatching in the Rajunagar area around 6.20 a.m. They went on a chain snatching spree targeting women at seven places in a radius of 10 kilometers. According to police, they snatched gold chains weighing 21 tolas.
The offenders left the stolen bike at Paradise in Secunderabad around 9 a.m. and then reached Secunderabad Railway Station by an autorickshaw to board a train.
The series of incidents sent panic. Police in both Hyderabad and Rachakonda commissionerates sounded an alert. A total of 20 teams comprising personnel from Task Force, CCS, SOT and other wings were constituted to nab the culprits.
Pinku and Ashok are said to be habitual offenders. They were arrested in Bengaluru in 2017, but continued committing snatchings after being released from jail.
They stay in a city for 4-5 hours and escape immediately after committing a series of snatching by using a stolen vehicle. They target women walking alone.
