An unemployed man in Nagpur was arrested after he resorted to chain-snatching to pay court-mandated alimony to his ex-wife, police said.

The accused, identified as Kanhaiya Narayan Baurashi, a resident of Ganpatinagar in Mankapur, was arrested while investigating a recent robbery.

The case came to light after a 74-year-old woman, Jayshree Jaykumar Gade, was robbed of her gold chain by a bike-borne assailant in Manishnagar on February 22. Following her complaint, a case was registered.

During the probe, technical surveillance and local intelligence led the police to Kanhaiya, who confessed to the crime during interrogation. Further questioning revealed that he had committed at least four such robberies.

Kanhaiya admitted he turned to crime as a desperate measure to pay Rs 6,000 in monthly alimony to his first wife, as ordered by the court. He had been unemployed for the past two years but remarried during the Covid-19 pandemic, police said.

The investigation also revealed that Kanhaiya had sold some of the stolen jewellery to a local jeweller, Amardeep Krishnarao Nakhate, owner of Shri Sai Jewellers. Nakhate was subsequently arrested for purchasing stolen property.

Police have recovered a motorcycle, a mobile phone, and 10 grams of gold grains worth Rs 1.85 lakh during searches at locations disclosed by the accused.

Both Kanhaiya and Nakhate are currently in custody and have been handed over to Beltarodi police for further investigation.

Source: India Today