One of the two chain snatchers who jumped into the Periyar in Aluva on Thursday to evade police arrest drowned while the other person eventually landed in the police net. The deceased has been identified as 18-year-old Nishad of Vedimara near North Paravur. The co-accused, Ashique, 24, of Kunnukara in Aluva was arrested.
The accused allegedly snatched a gold chain, weighing 3.5 sovereign, from a woman, Saramma Kuriakose, near Oonnukal in Kothamangalam. Approaching the woman on a two-wheeler, they snatched her chain and fled to the Aluva side.
On an alert, the local police swung into action. The duo, however, managed to evade the police check points all along the route and covered a distance of around 30 kilometres to reach the Thottakkattukara Junction in Aluva. They abandoned the vehicle near Periyar Valley Irrigation Office and jumped into the river around 11.30 am in a bid to evade the arrest.
Meanwhile, the police were joined by a few local residents who carried out a search along the river stretch and recovered Nishad’s body. The other person, Ashique, was caught and was shifted to the Aluva District Hospital for administering first aid.
Later, the police also recovered the motorcycle, the gold chain and a packet of ganja from their possession.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the duo had been accused in several snatching cases in the region.
The police have launched a probe into the incident.
