Gold thief remains in ‘custardy’
Police in Mumbai have reportedly force-fed 40 bananas down a thief’s throat after he swallowed a gold chain whilst he was being chased by officers who had caught him stealing the jewellery.
The police in the western Indian city were successful in their unusual technique to retrieve the sparkly chain after the initial enema failed to work.
Hospital X-rays showed that the man was lying when he said that he didn’t snatch the chain from a woman in a bustling Mumbai street.
Doctors suggested performing an operation, but police officers thought it would be too expensive and opted instead for the fruitier method.
“He was fed more than 40 bananas throughout the day,” said Shankar Dhanavade, a senior inspector with Mumbai police.
Eventually the chain was found. “We made him wash and disinfect it,” the policeman said.
The 25-year-old man appeared in court on Friday and is in police custody, said Dhanavade.
According to reports, it was not the first time Mumbai police had used this technique in order to recover a stolen item.
In July last year, a chain was retrieved after a thief was forced to eat two-dozen bananas and drink several litres of milk laced with laxatives, reported the Hindustan Times.
The BBC reported last April that another alleged thief was fed five dozen bananas and liquids in an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve a gold chain stuck in his stomach.
