The Kurla GRP have arrested a 42-year-old hawker involved in a bag snatching case, in which a 50-year-old doctor lost his hand while trying to save his wife as they both fell from a moving train at Kurla. The accused has been identified as Mohammad Saif alias Asgar Ali Chowdhury, a resident of Delhi, who is wanted in multiple cases across Mumbai.
The victim, Dr Yogesh Deshmukh, was travelling with his wife Dr Deepali Deshmukh and their nine-year-old child on the Nanded Express from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. Police said that Saif earlier worked as a hawker in trains, selling mobile headphones, but a few years ago he turned to chain snatching and bag snatching on the Kurla-Panvel route.
According to officials, the incident occurred on June 4, when the Deshmukh family was travelling to their village. The accused followed them on the train and snatched Deepali’s bag while the train was moving. Deepali fell from the moving train, and in an attempt to save her, Yogesh also lost his balance and fell, resulting in his left hand being severed. A police officer said, “He lost his left hand from the elbow in the moving train. CCTV footage confirmed that the accused is a habitual offender who had been absconding since June.”
On August 8, the accused committed a similar robbery at Kozhikode railway station in Kerala, where he snatched a woman’s bag from a running train. In that incident, the woman fell from the train and sustained serious head and back injuries. Despite this, the accused continued his crimes until the Kozhikode police recently managed to nab him in Delhi. The Mumbai Railway Crime Branch then obtained custody from the Kozhikode police. He was produced in court and remanded to police custody.
A police officer added, “The accused is involved in more than 34 cases of chain snatching and bag snatching across Mumbai and other cities. He is particularly active during July and August, when he comes to Mumbai and commits these crimes. Saif was a hawker in express trains about 20 years ago, selling headphones, and was especially active on the Kurla-Panvel route, where he carried out multiple chain-snatching incidents.”
