A 65-year-old woman from Coimbatore won the praise of the public and the police after she caught a chain-snatcher in the act near Kavundampalayam here on Monday.
Ramathal, a resident of Thendral Nagar near Kavundampalayam, caught a 20-year-old youth who attempted to snatch her 2.5 sovereign gold chain when she was walking to her house from a grocery store.
The police said that the incident happened when Ramathal and her neighbour Durgadevi were returning from a grocery store. Dhanapal, a graduate from Karur who had been staying with his relative at Nallampalayam, followed them on a two-wheeler.
As he grabbed the chain of Ramathal and tried to speed away, the woman managed to get hold of his two-wheeler. She then caught the youth who was overpowered by people who came to her help. He was handed over to the police.
According to the police, it was the first snatching attempt by the youth who earlier worked in a private firm. He told the police that he was unable to pay the monthly instalment of a two-wheeler loan after he lost his job some months back. He watched some videos of chain-snatching before the first attempt, said the police.
Coimbatore District (Rural) Superintendent of Police S. Selvanagarathinam honoured Ramathal for her bravery at his office on Tuesday.
