Menaka, 50, was anticipating a long but engaging Sunday. However, the day had barely begun when a horrifying incident landed her in hospital.
A resident of Washermanpet, she was on her way to attend a wedding. After getting ready, she boarded a bus to Arumbakkam. “My relatives are from the Andamans and they do not know how to conduct marriage rituals properly. So, I was on my way to help them. Since I was not familiar with the address, I was speaking with them on phone and walking towards their house through Panchaliamman Koil Street around 7.30 a.m,” said Ms. Menaka.
She was followed by two men on a bike. “The pillion rider tried to snatch my [15 sovereign] chain, but I held on to it not realising what was happening. I shouted for help but no one came to my rescue. I was dragged for nearly 100 meters and then, I lost consciousness,” she told The Hindu. She sustained injuries on her hands, legs and neck and was rushed to a hospital by passersby.
Complaint lodged
“After this, we lodged a complaint with the police and they promised to nab the culprits as soon as possible,” said Saravanan, her son-in-law. The CCTV footage shows the two men — the rider wearing a helmet and the pillion rider wearing a bandana on his head — coming towards Menaka from the opposite direction.
“It looks like they took a U-turn and then sped away after snatching her chain,” Mr. Saravanan said. The footage went viral on social media with many questioning the effectiveness of patrolling.
Culprits target elderly woman in Kundrathur
A duo on a bike following an elderly couple walking on the street struck at an opportune moment before making a quick getaway with the woman’s chain.
visuals of chain snatching in Kundrathur (from CCTV footage) Special arrangement
According to the police, Ashok Kumar and Jeyashri live in Raghavendra Nagar in Kundrathur.
The footage from a few cameras released by the police shows the couple walking on Kambar Street in the locality around 5.30 p.m.
They were followed by two youth on a bike.
When the couple stopped for a few seconds on noticing something, the duo took a turn and parked the bike in a lane nearby.
The couple continued with their walk.
One of the snatchers approached them from behind and snatched her chain.
She lost her balance and fell down as she tried to hold on to the chain but the culprit managed to wrest it away and ran towards his accomplice who kept his bike running.
The pillion rider jumped on the bike and sped away. Meanwhile, her husband tried to chase the thief. He threw a stone at the duo on the bike but lost balance and fell down in the process.
