Pune: Police have finally caught red-handed a cunning chain snatcher who had spread panic across Pimpri Chinchwad and its surrounding areas — close to Pune in Maharashtra — for roughly the past one-and-a-half to two months. The arrested accused has been identified as Sumit Ingle, originally a resident of Solapur. Pimpri Chinchwad's Additional Police Commissioner Sarang Avhad shared the full account of the case and the arrest at a press conference. CCTV footage of the accused being nabbed has also surfaced and is spreading rapidly on social media. After watching the clip, people are saying the police caught the accused in an entirely filmy style.
Repeated Incidents Piled Pressure on Police
According to Additional Police Commissioner Sarang Avhad, chain snatching incidents had been occurring repeatedly in the city for some time, putting considerable pressure on the police. After a recent incident within the limits of Sangvi police station, the investigation was handed to Unit 1 of the Crime Branch. Working hard, the team carefully combed through around 150 to 200 CCTV footage clips linked to the route of the crimes. Analysis of these clips gave the police a key lead — that after committing a crime the accused fled towards Baner and used the Baner-Pune highway.
Accused Trapped After Three to Four Days
The moment they got the lead, the police field team had laid a trap on the relevant highway and likely hideouts over the past three to four days. In the morning, the police spotted the suspected accused. As soon as he moved towards a dead-end, the alert police team surrounded him from all sides and grabbed him. A video of this police action is also going viral on social media, showing the officers catching the accused in disguise. The Additional Commissioner confirmed that the video is of this very operation and that the entire team would be rewarded for the excellent work.
A Shocking Revelation During Questioning
A startling fact came to light during police interrogation. Sumit Ingle is no novice criminal — he was an active chain snatcher between 2016 and 2024. He already has 8 criminal cases registered against him across Pune city, Pune rural and Pimpri Chinchwad. After being released from jail he tried his hand at some other work to make a living, but a gambling addiction kept him from succeeding and he returned to the world of crime. The accused also confessed that he had watched two episodes of the TV show 'Crime Patrol', learning from them to further sharpen his technique for evading the police and carrying out chain snatching.
76 Grams of Gold Recovered, Five Cases Solved
According to the police, Sumit Ingle carried out all these crimes alone. He had two vehicles — one his own and the other one he usually hired on a daily rent. Following this arrest, 5 chain snatching incidents in the Pimpri Chinchwad commissionerate area have been solved. So far the police have recovered 76 grams of gold from the accused, valued at roughly 15 lakh rupees in the market. Police expect that further questioning may expose several more incidents. The investigation is currently underway.
