MUMBAI: A 22-year-old chain-snatcher has been giving the Dindoshi police a tough time after having swallowed a piece of a gold chain he had stolen four days ago. The accused, Imran Shaikh, had not been eating enough food nor going to the lavatory, said the police who have been unable to recover the chain.

Shaikh was arrested on Thursday after he targeted a woman, Sunanda Kadam (28), in Goregaon (E) and made away with her gold chain worth Rs 37,500. A patrolling police van

noticed the victim screaming for help and chased Shaikh.

Realizing that the cops were closing in on him, the accused swallowed a piece of the chain which had snapped while he was snatching it. The other piece was in his pocket. Cops managed to nab Shaikh and retrieved a part of the chain from his pocket. But they soon learnt that the accused had swallowed the other half. Shaikh was sent for a medical exam to Bhagwati Hospital in Borivli which confirmed he had ingested a portion of the chain.

“Shaikh will not eat and hasn’t been attending nature’s call either. He is not being co-operative,” the police said adding that the accused has committed several other crimes to fund a drug habit. The accused will be produced in the metropolitan court on Tuesday.

