Police in Mumbai have resorted to an unusual method of getting a thief to hand over the goods - by force feeding him more than 40 bananas in an attempt to retrieve a gold chain which he had swallowed, reports .

The thief reportedly snatched the chain from a woman at the Ghatkopar east fish market on Wednesday night.

But after the woman screamed, some citizens gave chase and he was later handed in to the authorities.

In a desperate attempt to cover his tracks he swallowed the chain and denied stealing it, but x-rays suggested otherwise.

Baffled police resorted to giving the thief an enema, but it was to no avail.

One doctor suggested they surgically remove the chain but in the end the authorities opted for a messier solution - force feeding the man with bananas.

"He was fed more than 40 bananas throughout the day," Mumbai police Senior Inspector Shankar Dhanavade told AFP.

"Eventually the chain was found. We made him wash and disinfect it," he added.

The 25-year-old man is now in police custody and will appear in court on Friday, police said.

bbabo.Net