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Mumbai police force-feed thief dozens of bananas to retrieve swallowed gold chain

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The bananas had a laxative effect. Photo: SCMP Picture

Indian police successfully deployed an unusual technique to retrieve a gold chain that a thief had swallowed while officers were in hot pursuit -- they force-fed him more than 40 bananas.

The man denied snatching the chain from a woman in the street in Mumbai and swallowed it in a desperate bid to conceal his crime last week, but hospital X-rays suggested otherwise.

Police in the western Indian city administered an enema which failed to yield the desired result.

Eventually the chain was found. We made him wash and disinfect it
Shankar Dhanavade

Doctors said an operation would be the best way forward, but police officers decided it would be too expensive and opted instead for the bananas.

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“He was fed more than 40 bananas throughout the day,” Mumbai police Senior Inspector Shankar Dhanavade said.

“Eventually the chain was found. We made him wash and disinfect it,” the policeman added.

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The 25-year-old man appeared in court on Friday and is in police custody, said Dhanavade.

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