How Chennai cops used a pair of shoes to nab career criminals from Mumbai

Indeed, Greater Chennai Police Commissioner A Arun described the operation as “a real event that surpassed cinema”, highlighting the keen investigation skills of his forces in tracking down the suspects using the footprints of shoes worn by them as a major clue.

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Unique modus operandi

Notorious chain-snatcher Jaffer Gulam Hussain Irani and his associate Misamum Dhusvasam Mesam, both 28, had a unique modus operandi. They flew down from Mumbai early on Tuesday, snatched six gold chains in an hour, and had neat plans to fly back home.

“They came by flight to snatch chains, targeting vulnerable elderly women who are out on the road in the early hours, and had plans to escape immediately by flight,” said Arun.

But Chennai Police played spoilsport. Within three hours, two of the men were caught. Irani was shot dead near Taramani railway station in the wee hours of Wednesday after he allegedly attacked a police officer when he was taken to the spot to recover the stolen jewellery.

Six snatchings in an hour

The city is no stranger to crime, but when six chain snatchings were reported between 6 am and 7 am on Tuesday in the southern parts of the city, the cops saw a giant red flag. Over a hundred personnel were deployed and as many CCTV recordings examined.

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They found that a pair of criminals, riding a stolen motorcycle, had targeted morning walkers, especially elderly women, in Saidapet (four incidents), Adyar (one incident) and Besant Nagar (one incident), snatching gold jewellery worth about Rs 13 lakh in all.

Police soon identified the rider as Mesam, with Irani on the pillion — both part of the notorious Irani gang, known for interstate operations, with a history of similar crimes across the country.

Third accused

According to police, Irani and Mesam reached Chennai on Tuesday morning by different flights and took the bike from a third accused, Salman Hussain, who had reached Chennai by train on Monday (March 24) itself.

“We suspect that three teams are involved in the operations — one team to do a field visit and plan the crime, another to execute it, and a third one to sell the jewellery and share the proceeds with the others,” said the police.

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Salman, who had boarded the Pinakini Express train from Chennai Central Railway Station to Hyderabad, was arrested by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Ongole station in Andhra Pradesh.

'Fatal' shoe model

As part of their intensive operation to nab the culprits, Chennai Police analysed CCTV footage from 56 locations, identifying the suspects’ movements and noting that they changed their clothes, but kept the same shoes. This acted as a major clue.

The police successfully identified the exact shoe colour and model worn by one of the accused and used its tread pattern to trace and finally nab the offenders at the Chennai airport.

“We used advanced forensic techniques to match the shoe’s tread pattern with footprints found at one of the crime scenes, further confirming the suspect’s identity. This meticulous evidence-gathering process enabled the police to narrow down the suspects such as the stolen motorcycle’s registration details,” Arun said.

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The police also alerted airports and railway stations to prevent the suspects from fleeing and made inquiries with airlines about which passengers had booked tickets at the last minute for an impending flight. When Irani and Mesam reached the airport, they walked right into the police net.

At around 10.30 am on Tuesday, Irani was caught at the Air India counter for a Mumbai-bound flight, while Mesam was arrested after being detained at the Indigo counter for a Hyderabad-bound flight.

One killed in encounter

However, around 2.30 am the next day (Wednesday), law enforcement officials transported Irani to Taramani railway station, reportedly to retrieve the stolen jewellery.

During this operation, he allegedly assaulted Inspector Muhammad Buhari after retrieving a country-made pistol from a concealed spot and attempted to escape. Buhari shot Irani in self-defence. Police said Irani was declared dead at a hospital shortly after. A bullet also struck a police vehicle during the incident; however, no officers were injured.

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The Police Commissioner defended the encounter, saying: “He attacked our officer; we had no choice but to act in self-defence. We cannot allow such dangerous criminals to roam free and endanger public safety.”

Police said they later reported recovering 26.5 sovereigns of gold jewellery worth Rs 13 lakh from Taramani site after the encounter.

Fourth encounter charges

However, Henri Tiphagne, a prominent human rights activist and executive director of human rights NGO, People’s Watch, called it an "encounter" and said it was the fourth such killing in Chennai ever since Arun took over as the Commissioner of Police.

Tiphagne said that Irani's death was a “shameful reflection of the state’s failure to ensure accountability for extrajudicial killings”, arguing that such actions undermine the rule of law and human rights.

He has for long advocated for independent investigations into police encounters, asserting that they often mask systemic issues of impunity and abuse of power within the force.