The arrest of three executives has solved 12 robbery cases wherein the victims were aged people walking out of banks after withdrawing cash and from jewellery shops after buying ornaments.
City Police Commissioner C. Sylendra Babu said that since 2007, the city witnessed as many as 12 cases of aged people/senior citizens being robbed of cash and jewellery, when they were returning from banks and jewellery shops.
The gangs used to follow the prospective victims on two motorcycles and at less congested places used to push them down or immobilise them and snatch the bags. In one such case in May last year, a gang pushed an aged person Lakshmanan from the two-wheeler leading to hospitalisation, where he subsequently died after 10 days. The modus operandi gave no clue for the police to zero-in on habitual offenders.
Mr. Babu formed special teams led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Gunasekaran. The teams finally zeroed in on three persons in the age group of 25 to 30, Karthik, Suresh and Dileep Kumar, one of whom is a manager in a reputed jewellery firm. The police arrested all the three accused and recovered cash totalling Rs. 9.5 lakh and 12 sovereigns of jewellery and also the two motorcycles used by them.