Two siblings who chased and caught a thief who had snatched their mobile phone were felicitated by the city police on Monday.
Matthew, 11, and Vincy Nadar, 15, residents of Indira Nagar, Antop Hill, were on their way to St. Dominic Savio Church in Wadala for Sunday morning mass when Matthew saw a seemingly inebriated man approaching them.
Even as Matthew moved between the ‘drunkard’ and his sister protectively, another man came up from behind them and snatched the phone from Vincy, who was checking the time.
Matthew said, “I hit him with my umbrella but he kept running. We ran after him and shouted for help. Finally, some taxi drivers at the nearby taxi stand responded and caught him.”
Vincy said the incident happened around 7.50 a.m. “He was trying to snatch my phone. I tried to resist, and my brother hit him with the umbrella. Immediately my brother hit him with his umbrella and he ran away with me phone. We are into sports, so we were able to chase him,” she added. Both said they want to become Indian Police Service (IPS) officers.
Praising the kids for their bravery, N. Ambika, DCP (Zone VI), felicitated them with certificates and books at Matunga police station. Speaking on the occasion, she said: “They did a great job and prevented future crimes by the accused. We want all citizens to take this as an example and learn from the kids.”
“The accused, identified as Kananna Devendra, was brought to the police station and booked under IPC section 379,” Senior Police Inspector Vasant Patil of Antop Hill Police station said.
The writer is an intern with The Hindu
