TIRUCHY: Following the rapid growth of snatching incidents by two-wheeler-borne culprits, the police stepped up patrolling and arrested three persons in Thanjavur within hours of mobile phone snatching incidents, while a search is on for the culprit in Tiruchy, who was involved in another incident on Monday.
According to police, there were complaints about the waylaying and snatching incidents from across the region, and the police from the respective district were asked to be more vigilant and accelerate patrolling.
Accordingly, on Monday, a 17-year-old boy from Thanjavur was following his ailing father in an ambulance on a moped. When he was nearing Pattukkottai bypass bridge in Thanjavur, three persons who came by bike, intercepted the boy and threatened him at knifepoint. They demanded money. When the boy had no money, the trio snatched away his mobile phone and fled.
Subsequently, the boy filed a complaint with Thanjavur Taluk police, who registered a case and commenced vehicle inspections. After this, the police checked three persons who were identified as Nandakumar (25), Murugan (37), and Sudhakar (22) from Bharathidasan Nagar at Vilar Road in Thanjavur. Soon, the police arrested the trio and recovered the mobile phone.
Meanwhile, at Srirangam in Tiruchy, Babu (45), from Akilandeswari Garden in Moola Thoppu was on his morning walk on Monday and suddenly, a youth who came by a two-wheeler hit him from behind. Babu lost his control and fell on the road. The culprit took away Babu's mobile phone and escaped. Soon, Babu passed on the information to the police who registered a case and are investigating.