Mumbai: Chain-snatching gang slapped with MCOCA, murder

MUMBAI: Nearly three weeks after a 52-year-old woman lost her life in a chain-snatching bid in Ghatkopar, Pant Nagar police invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) charge against the five-member gang. Earlier, they had been booked for robbery and murder under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Three of the gang members were arrested on Sunday.The police are on the lookout for their two accomplices.
The incident took place on September 7, when Shahabai Ubale, who worked as an ayah in a hospital, was walking to a BEST bus stop from her Ramabai Nagar residence. The accused, who were on bikes, first tried to snatch her chain and failed. They then pulled on her purse, but as she firmly held on it, she fell on the road and got dragged for a few metres. The bikers panicked and sped away even as a nearby patrol police team chased them.
“The woman was rushed to the nearby Rajawadi Hospital as she suffered multiple injuries on the head and all over her body. Owing to her serious condition, she was referred to Sion hospital, where she died the next day,” said senior inspector Suhash Kamble of Pant Nagar police station. He added that they will produce the arrested accused before the special MCOCA court on Monday.
The police had intially registered a robbery and murder case against the gang. “We formed a special team to identify the bikers. With technical help and CCTV footage, our officers identified three of them and arrested them,” said deputy commissioner of police (zone VII) Prashant Kadam. “As the accused are history-sheeters and part of an organised gang, we invoked the stringent MCOCA as a deterrent.”
A police officer said that the MCOCA and murder charges will make it difficult for the gang to secure bail.
The victim, Ubale, lived with her daughter, son and daughter-in-law. She was employed at Pancholi Hospital in Garodia Nagar, Ghatkopar (E), since 15 years.