It was a “Good” Friday for the city police!
Three hard core and most wanted persons were trapped by a special team bringing in great relief. After a series of chain snatching incidents rocked some parts of the city in the recent past, the police acted swiftly, bringing cheers to the victims.
Gathering intelligence from different sources about the robbers and the inputs collected from the victims on the identity of robbers, the special team comprising Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) V. Malaisamy, secured Pandiarajan alias “Othakann” Pandiarajan of Azhaguthai Compound Rayappan Nagar, Vilacheri, his accomplice Sundar of Sikkandar Chavadi and Mari alias “Mottai” Mari from different locations. Based on their confessions, the team recovered 39 sovereigns from the trio, which included 13 sovereigns of gold chain robbed from a woman.
The police officers, who investigated the robbers, found that the trio targeted aged women walking alone from bus stops or waiting in bus stops.
Similarly, women who spoke over the mobile phone and walked alone were also easy prey. In one instance, a case of attempt to murder was booked as the robber Mari had allegedly assaulted a victim with a knife, when the woman refused to part with the booty.
Easy way
With the gold prices looking up every day, snatching the yellow metal from gullible women was easy. At least more than half-a-dozen times the trio were arrested and lodged in prisons in the past.
Since they were evading arrest for long, it came as a hot cake for the police, Mr. Malaisamy said and added that each of the three accused had a dozen cases pending in different police stations .
Another police officer, who was part of the investigations, said that despite having lost an eye, Pandiarajan indulged in the grave crime for several years. “He is a jail bird” was how the officer summed up since the accused hopped in and out of the prisons.
One of the accused had claimed, “I indulged in robbery, because I want money to live…No body offered me a decent jobs. When I snatched a chain from an aged woman long ago in S.S. Colony, I moved scot-free for very many years without being caught …I learnt the tricks and avoided to move out whenever there were police checks in the city and suburbs,” he confessed.
Commissioner of Police Sanjay Mathur, while appreciating the team for its commendable performance, appealed to the womenfolk to be guarded while walking alone in streets.
In the event of any such incidents, public can alert police immediately as it may help catch the robbers, senior officers addressing a press conference said.
The womenfolk, who were keeping their fingers crossed, went away with smiles after the police officers handed over the recovered property in Madurai on Friday
