Chennai: Daredevil who helped nab gun-wielding bank robber

CHENNAI: Mohan Raj was busy checking his phone when he was in Indian Bank’s Indira Nagar branch on Monday afternoon to deposit a cheque in his company’s account. When a man pointed a pistol at customers and the bank staff, he thought it was all just a prank. “Only when he took the cash and left, I was sure it was indeed a robbery,” says Mohan Raj. What  Mohan Raj later did was something many would not have dared. He helped police nab the robber, now identified as Manish Kumar Yadav, by ramming his bike against the robber’s at a traffic signal nearby.

“Though, I was not sure about following him, the only thought that ran across my mind then was whether I would not have dared to do it had it been my money. I would have definitely chased him,” he says. Mohan Raj, works in a leather company at Periamet.He said he was initially nervous as the robber was carrying two pistols. “I managed to overcome my fear and went out following him. Around 750 metres, I spotted him waiting at the water tank traffic signal. 

After learning that he was not holding the pistol, I rammed my bike against the robber’s from behind and knocked him down. We got into a fist fight when he pulled out a pistol from his bag. It misfired and he ran towards the Canal Bank Road.” By then, the traffic police who were at the signal saw Manish running. They along with a boy chased and nabbed him.On Tuesday, city police commissioner A K Viswanathan congratulated Mohan Raj, Adyar traffic Investigation inspector D Joseph and a boy Jayanth (17) who was also one among the public who chased Manish and nabbed him.