Thief bites off piece of constable’s finger, tries to flee, foiled

CHENNAI: It isn’t easy being a cop. Ask constable S Karthik who is reportedly missing a piece of his finger after a tussle with a thief took an unexpected turn on Sunday. According to police, it all started when 24-year-old M Iyyappan, of Pallavaram, allegedly snatched the bag of Kolathur resident N Jagadeesh as the latter was waiting for a cab outside the Chennai Metropolitan Bus Terminus in Koyembedu at close to 4.30pm on Sunday.

“People nearby chased him and constable S Karthick, who was at the spot, caught him. While Karthik was taking him to the CMBT police station, the suspect freed himself and bit a finger on his right hand,” said a police officer. Iyyappan reportedly spit out the portion of finger he had bitten off. “He tried to flee, but was caught by members of public and handed over to police,” the officer said. Karthick was taken to an Anna Nagar hospital where efforts were on to re-attach the bitten off portion to the rest of the finger.