How Shoes Led To Arrest Of Cunning Chain Snatcher In Mumbai

A man has been identified as the mastermind behind a series of chain-snatching incidents that recently hit Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Police have arrested 49-year-old Mohan Kokate, a resident of Mumbai's Sion area.

According to the police, the accused wore a helmet and changed his clothes after every crime to avoid identification. However, his habit of wearing the same pair of shoes proved to be the crucial clue that led to his arrest.

Investigators analysed around 80 CCTV clips from various locations. While Kokate's face was not clearly visible, the same shoes appeared in every incident. Using this detail, police tracked and arrested him.

Further investigation revealed that Kokate earlier ran a gardening business with his father. His family is well-educated and financially stable-his sister lives in Dubai, his brother in the US, while one son is a chartered accountant and the other an engineer. Despite this background, his addiction to online casinos and gambling pushed him into heavy debt.

Police said Kokate was jailed in 2011 for criminal offences and had promised his family to reform after his release. While he stayed away from crime for a few years, mounting losses in online gaming and rising expenses allegedly drove him back to criminal activities.

How the Sion Incident Cracked the Case

The breakthrough came after a chain-snatching incident reported in Sion on January 25. Initially, the victim was reluctant to file a complaint as the necklace was fake. Police convinced her to register an FIR, following which CCTV footage from the area was examined.

The investigation revealed that Kokate used a stolen two-wheeler to commit the crimes. He had stolen the motorcycle from Nerul and would abandon it near Teen Hath Naka in Thane after each incident, walking home to evade detection.

While he changed his clothes every time, police noted that he never changed his shoes. The same footwear appeared in nearly 80 CCTV clips across different locations. Acting on this lead, police arrested him near Teen Hath Naka when he arrived to retrieve the vehicle. He later confessed to multiple offences.

Police said five FIRs were registered against him in January alone. The accused has claimed that over 20 cases are already registered against him in Mumbai, a claim currently being verified. He allegedly targeted elderly women and operated alone.