First chain snatcher booked under MCOCA held after freak accident
Being the first chain snatcher to be booked under MCOCA has not reformed Alam Adam Mansoori. Two months after he was released from judicial custody, the 22-year-old is behind bars once again — caught red-handed while attempting to snatch a chain at Vakola last week.
Mansoori, who has over 30 cases against him, tried to snatch the chain of a woman while speeding past her near Vakola Market on Tuesday. He, however, did not quite get hold of the chain, and instead grasped the woman’s saree, as a result of which he lost his balance and fell from his bike.
Passersby who witnessed the incident quickly grabbed Mansoori and began thrashing him. Seeing the commotion, some passing cops stopped at the scene and arrested Mansoori.
To curb repeat incidents of such crimes, then Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh had instructed his men to invoke the stringent act against criminals involved in multiple cases. MCOCA can be applied if at least one member of an organised gang has two charge sheets registered against him. Under MCOCA, it becomes difficult for an accused to secure bail easily.
On Tuesday, the Vakola police handed Mansoori over to Bandra’s Kherwadi Police Station, where he is wanted in earlier cases. Sr Inspector Vinayak Mule of the Vakola police told Mirror, “Mansoori is a known criminal in the region. We even took him for the Adhan Pradhan meeting at BKC — a police conference where all notorious criminals are brought to familiarize them and their cases to other officers.”
Mansoori, who has over 30 cases against him, tried to snatch the chain of a woman while speeding past her near Vakola Market on Tuesday. He, however, did not quite get hold of the chain, and instead grasped the woman’s saree, as a result of which he lost his balance and fell from his bike.
Passersby who witnessed the incident quickly grabbed Mansoori and began thrashing him. Seeing the commotion, some passing cops stopped at the scene and arrested Mansoori.
According to the police, Mansoori is one of the most notorious chain snatchers in western region. He, along with his associate Bada Sajid, have been involved in so many cases of chain snatching that after they were nabbed in December 2012 for a case in Mahim, it was decided to book the two under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
To curb repeat incidents of such crimes, then Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh had instructed his men to invoke the stringent act against criminals involved in multiple cases. MCOCA can be applied if at least one member of an organised gang has two charge sheets registered against him. Under MCOCA, it becomes difficult for an accused to secure bail easily.
On Tuesday, the Vakola police handed Mansoori over to Bandra’s Kherwadi Police Station, where he is wanted in earlier cases. Sr Inspector Vinayak Mule of the Vakola police told Mirror, “Mansoori is a known criminal in the region. We even took him for the Adhan Pradhan meeting at BKC — a police conference where all notorious criminals are brought to familiarize them and their cases to other officers.”
