Madurai
Madurai rural district police have busted a chain-snatching gang with the arrest of six persons from Usilampatti area.
The police have solved 12 criminal cases and recovered 45 sovereigns of gold from them. The police identified the accused as Karthik, 33, Chellapandi, 21, Arun, 34, and three others. Among them one of them is a Plus Two student.
The police said the accused were intercepted during a routine vehicle check and were interrogated when they moved in a suspicious manner.
During interrogation, they had reportedly confessed to have involved in 12 chain snatching cases in Usilampatti, Chekkanoorani, Uthapanaickanoor, M. Kallupatti, Sindupatti and Tirumangalam Town.
A police source said the modus operandi of the accused was that they had set out in teams of two persons. While one would keep a vigil on women riding two-wheelers in isolated areas and alert the other team.
The other team would follow the potential victims. “They would go so closer to the victims as if they would bump them off. As the victims slow down their bikes, the accused would snatch the gold chain and flee. Since, it had happened in isolated stretches of road, they escaped before any help would come to the women,” the source added.
The police said the robbers would share the booty and indulge in drinking. “They had also bought a new motorbike with the proceeds of the criminal activity,” he added.
The police also seized three motorbikes from them.
The police added that Karthik and Arun who were running mutton stalls in Usilampatti used to steal goats from nearby areas at night and sell the meat the next day.
Superintendent of Police N. Manivannan appreciated the efforts of the special team of police.