BAREILLY: Two elderly men—aged 62 and 58—who posed as harmless senior citizens have been arrested in Moradabad for snatching a woman’s gold chain, revealing a criminal career that spans nearly 30 years and over 40 theft cases.
Karamchand (62), a retired worker from a plywood factory, and Shravan Kumar (58), both residents of Haridwar, were taken into custody on Monday. According to police, the duo had checked into a hotel in Budh Bazaar on Friday and spent the evening surveying potential targets before zeroing in on Avantika Colony.
Their strike came early the next morning. Around 6:30 am on Saturday, they targeted Anita Kaushik, a woman in her 50s, who was out for a walk in the Civil Lines area. Pretending to be just another pair of morning strollers, the men executed the snatching swiftly and fled the scene.
Their age turned out to be an advantage—not just in catching victims off guard, but also in evading initial police suspicion. “They didn’t match the usual profile of chain snatchers, and being outsiders made them harder to trace,” said SP (City) Ranvijay Singh.
Police launched a detailed investigation, combing through CCTV footage across Moradabad and extending their search to Haridwar. Eventually, the duo was identified and tracked down. Officers recovered the stolen gold chain, their getaway scooter, and even a firearm.
Further inquiry revealed extensive criminal backgrounds. Karamchand has 29 cases registered against him, dating as far back as 1997, and was last arrested by Muzaffarnagar police in 2019. Shravan Kumar is no stranger to crime either, with 12 theft cases under his name. Most of their previous victims, like Anita, were elderly individuals targeted during early morning hours.
“They would pretend to be gentle elders staying temporarily in town, making it easy to avoid suspicion,” police officials said.
Both have now been sent to jail. A reward of ₹10,000 was announced for the police team that cracked the case.
Their arrest serves as a reminder that age doesn’t always bring innocence—and that experience, when misused, can be just as dangerous.
