Three youngsters who used a high-powered motorcycle with a modified foldable number plate for chain snatching have been arrested by the Coimbatore District (Rural) Police. The police recovered three gold chains, weighing 17.5 sovereigns in total, from them. The police launched a search for the three after they snatched two gold chains, 14.5 sovereigns in total, belonging to a doctor attached to the Government Hospital, Mettupalayam, on April 24. They targeted the doctor when she was riding her scooter near RV Auditorium, within the limits of the Karamadai police. Though the doctor and other motorists tried to catch the accused, they managed to flee. The police were informed that the snatchers used the sports bike variant of a particular brand with no number plate on the rear.
On the instructions of Coimbatore District (Rural) Superintendent of Police V. Badrinarayanan, two special teams were formed under Karamadai Inspector P. Kumar and Mettupalayam Inspector P. Shanmugam. The special teams checked visuals from surveillance cameras for a radius of about 50 km. Though they managed to get the visuals of the two-wheeler, its number plate was not seen. The police identified the two-wheeler variant and collected details of the owners of the particular model from different districts.
During investigation, the police found the two-wheeler on the move in Coimbatore with the rear number plate in place. The police detained the rider and subsequently apprehended the remaining two on Friday.
The arrested were identified as N. Ranjithkumar (22), N. Ajithkumar, natives of Kovilpulikuthi village in Sattur taluk of Virudhunagar district, and M. Abishek Kumar (24) of Kumarasamy Nagar near Coimbatore airport. “The two-wheeler worth around ₹ 3.5 lakh belonged to Ranjithkumar. It was bought with a down payment of ₹ 1 lakh for the purpose of chain snatching. The rear number plate was altered at a shop in Saravanampatti. The alteration was made to hide the vehicle’s registration number while committing offences,” said K. Balamurugan, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mettupalayam sub-division.
During investigation, the district police found that the three had snatched a three sovereign gold chain within the limits of Annur police station. The police recovered the two gold chains of the doctor and the three sovereign chain.
The district police said the accused had admitted to have snatched the chains of many persons in Coimbatore city police limit.
