On September 9, the juvenile, along with two others, had snatched a phone from a pedestrian on Manali Road. While the other two fled, passers-by managed to secure the minor boy and handed him over to the police. Investigations revealed that the boy from Old Washermenpet had been roped in by the duo with the promise of a plate of biriyani. “He is a student of a Corporation school and has been promoted to Class 8. Though he has online classes, he could not afford to get a phone to attend them. His father is an alcoholic and his mother a housemaid,” said Inspector Bhuvaneshwari. On the day of the incident, the other accused Manikandan and Raj wooed him to accompany them to snatch valuables and promised to get him biriyani and took him to Manali road. Based on his inputs, police have now arrested the other two, who already have cases pending against them, and remanded them in judicial custody.

While the police would usually send juveniles caught for offences to observation homes, Tiruvottiyur police decided to pay heed to what the boy had to say since he was just 13 and was clueless about what he did. After the boy told police that he can attend classes with a smartphone, Inspector Bhuvaneshwari bought a phone and gifted it to him on Saturday.