Chandigarh beat

Swamy is being interrogated to find out his involvement in chain-snatching. A State-wide hunt has been launched to track down his accomplice Ashok Shankar Rathod from Solapur, according to police.

Swamy hails from Solapur. He came to Pune in search of a job ten years ago. After working as a painter for some years, he got involved in chain snatching. Swamy who was convicted in some such cases in Solapur, served a jail term between 1993 and 1995. His accomplice, Rathod was also serving a jail term during the same period, the police said.

The duo started operations in Kothrud, Swargate, Sahakarnmagar, Deccan Gymkhana and Nigdi after their jail term.

The duo used motorbikes as getaways after laying their hands on the ornaments. Swamy and Rathod would loiter in the vicinities of markets and temples to strike. They targetted old women in public places, they added.On a few occasions, the duo struck inside various buildings. They would pose as electricians, plumbers or telephone servicemen to enter buildings undeterred, the police said. The duo prayed at a temple in Kothrud before snatching chains, they added.

Dacoits strike
Once again rural areas were targeted by dacoits as they struck at Bhandalwadi village near Manchar in the early hours of Sunday morning.According to the FIR lodged with the Manchar police by Vithal Khandoba Palekar, five persons armed with swords broke into his house after midnight when they were fast asleep.

They threatened the family and decamped with cash and jewellery totalling Rs 20,400.

This is the third such incident since dacoities were reported from Manchar and Shikrapur in May. In the last incident that took place in May, armed dacoits had raided a series of houses in Manchar, attacking the family members. Apparently the mohalla committees proved ineffective in preventing the incident. The Manchar police are investigating the case.

Cop attacked
A cop was allegedly beaten up by a family of four in a scuffle in Bibvewadi on Sunday afternoon.

In an FIR, police constable Sunil Parshuram Jadhav stated that he was proceeding in an autorickshaw when another autorickshaw driven by Nitin Madhav Naikwade blocked the way. Naikwade then allegedly attacked the constable and was joined in by his parents and brothers. The Sahakarnagar police have arrested the four on the basis of the complaint and are conducting further investigations.