Two men in their 20s, one of them an expert bike rider who has served time in a Midnapore prison, were arrested on Saturday for allegedly snatching a gold chain from an elderly woman in Salt Lake’s EE Block.
The Telegraph had reported that the two bike-borne men snatched a gold chain from a Zakiya Rahman, in her early 60s, who was out on her morning walk in EE Block last week.
Manoj Ghosh, 26, alias Stunt Manoj, and Babai Sas, 24, were picked up near their homes near Garfa by a joint team of the Bidhannagar Commissionerate’s detective department and the Bidhannagar East police station.
Police said they had initially spoken to some eyewitnesses who told them they had seen two men on a red motorcycle speed through the block.
“All the eyewitnesses said that the riders had helmets on and nobody could give us the registration plate number,” the officer said.
The cops then started scanning CCTV cameras in the surrounding areas but they could not spot the bike.
They then scanned foot-age from over 200 cameras spread on EM Bypass but still could not spot the bike.
“This led us to check footage from Beleghata and its adjoining areas. We spotted a red bike that matched the description but both the riders had helmets on so we couldn’t decipher their faces,” said the officer.
A few days later, a CCTV camera near Mukandapur captured the same bike travelling at a high speed.
“However, this time Ghosh, who was riding the bike, was not wearing a helmet so we could track them,” said the officer.
Ghosh is adept at riding bikes and would often showcase dangerous stunts on his two-wheeler, an officer said.
“He has committed multiple snatchings and was arrested many times. He had also been in a Midnapore correctional home,” said the officer.
The cops have also seized the red TVS Apache RTR 160 bike that was used to snatch the woman’s gold chain.
Rahman said on Saturday: “I am so relieved that both men have been arrested.”
