Thieves targeted over a dozen women devotees amid the large crowds at the ongoing Panguni temple festival and deity procession in Mylapore. Police estimate close to a dozen women devotees lost jewellery and other valuables on Thursday evening alone.
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The famous temple fest, an annual affair, began on March 26 and will conclude on Saturday evening. With large crowds gathering for the big event, there was a posse of police keeping vigil, managing people and traffic flow. According to sources with the Mylapore police, the festivities on Thursday evening turned out to be a hunting ground for chain snatchers with nine people reporting losing their gold chains.
The crowds were large and uncontrollable in the procession and culprits posed as devotees and managed to evade the cops.
Nine women devotees, who attended the procession, later approached the local police on duty and reported the loss of gold ornaments of a total of nearly 55 sovereigns. A few more women are suspected to have lost valuables.
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In the same evening, a Mylapore resident offering prayers to the deity as part of the procession misplaced his bag reportedly containing Rs. 1.5 lakhs.
The victim identified as Mohan has lodged a complaint with the Mylapore police after unidentified persons fled with bag, sources added.