The officials, Biju Palode and Mohammed Shahjahan, were traveling home with their wives from Batha, a city center popular with expatriates, at around 10 p.m. when the incident happened.

“We left the car and were walking home when suddenly two robbers appeared before us and one of them grabbed my wife Smitha’s handbag before running away,” Biju said. He and Shahjahan chased the muggers, who were running toward a parked car where three other men were seated. After the pursuers were spotted, all five men ran away, leaving the vehicle behind. The handbag contained credit cards, the family iqama and Smitha’s mobile phone.

Police investigations revealed that the car used by the thieves had been stolen from Al-Kharj, some 60km from the capital.

The police also found a handbag in the car. It contained a passport belonging to Shahina Shahnawaz, an Indian national.

She had already told police that five men had snatched her handbag from the Ghuraib area, two kilometers away from Batha.

On Friday, an hour before the officials were mugged, the same gang of thieves had targeted Abdul Rahim and his son along the Rail Street, located on the other side of Batha.

The victims lost SR2,000 cash and a mobile worth SR1,800. According to police, the criminals gang up and carry out the same type of crimes in different areas. “The gang could be identified by the style of operations,” a police spokesman said. mugging victims are urged to always contact security authorities just in case.

The police located Shahnawaz without any difficulty as she had already made a complaint to police soon after the robbery.