The Special Task Force (STF) of the crime branch, Railways, Mumbai Police Commissionerate, has arrested two accused in a sensational gold chain snatching case that occurred on a Konkan Railway Mail-Express train earlier this year.

According to police sources, the case was reported in January by the complainant, identified as Darshana Dattaram Khedekar.

As per the FIR, Khedekar was travelling with her sister-in-law on the Madgaon–Bandra Express on January 30. Before the train reached Panvel Railway Station, the accused allegedly snatched her 25-gram gold chain and 10-gram mangalsutra, then jumped off the moving train and fled.

A case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at Panvel Railway Police Station.

Following an extensive investigation, the STF identified one of the accused as Mohammad Saif Azgar Ali Chaudhary, alias Mohammad Shakeel Azgar Ali (37), and arrested him on August 20, 2025. During interrogation, Chaudhary confessed to the crime and revealed that he had sold the stolen ornaments to a gold refiner in Noida.

“Chaudhary is a notorious chain-snatcher with 29 previous cases registered against him across Maharashtra—including Karjat, Dombivli, Kurla, CSMT, Thane, and Panvel—as well as in Kozhikode, Kerala,” an official said. His modus operandi involved boarding Mail/Express trains (especially on the Konkan Railway route) when they slowed near signals, targeting women wearing gold jewellery, and escaping by jumping off the train.

Based on Chaudhary’s information, the STF team arrested the gold refiner, identified as Rajendra Sukhdev Sargar (38), from Noida on September 19. Gold bars worth approximately Rs 7.18 lakh were recovered from him, officials said.

The detection and arrests were made under the guidance of DCP Pragya Zedge and ACP (Crime) Rajendra Ranmale. Senior Police Inspector Vijay Khedkar led the investigation, supported by a dedicated STF team including API Abhijit Bhupendra Taylor, PSI Mangesh Khade, PSI Sahebrao Kalapad, PSI Krishnarao Chavan, and PSI Ramchandra Khuspe.

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