Madurai
Madurai city police have arrested six accused involved in various chain-snatching cases in the city and other districts and recovered 85 sovereigns of gold.
The police identified the accused M. Prakash (28) of Anaiyur, S. Dinesh (21) of Chappanikoil Street, P. Ajith alias Sevugaperumal (23) of Vandiyur, K. Karthik (25) of K. Pudur, K. Selvam (21) of Villapuram and S. Kalimuthu (24) of Kamuthi in Ramanathapuram.
Special teams from Madurai city police identified two of them through video footage while snatching gold chain from a teacher near Palam Station Road.
“On the same day, the accused had operated in three places, including one under Alanganallur police station limits, Sellur and near Kakkan Statue,” a police officer said.
All the accused belonged to a gang led by ‘Pillaiyar’ Ganesan that has been involved in various murder cases. “These accused who had come out of jail three months back in a murder case, were indulging in chain snatching to sustain their livelihood and to fight cases in the court,” the police officer said.
The police have recovered two high-speed motorbikes used for the crime. “After snatching the gold chains in the city and its suburbs, the accused would go to their hideout in Usilampatti within few minutes. Hence, the police team could not apprehend them immediately,” the officer added.
The police said that they were involved in at least 30 robbery cases, including 20 in city.