Cop nabs chain snatchers despite injury

The constable, a resident of Purasawalkam, was going back home after duty at 6 pm when he noticed two men on bike following a woman on Letangs Road. Nagamani, of Vellore, had come to Chennai to visit her ailing father-in-law and she was talking over mobile phone while walking to a tea shop. 

The duo snatched a three-sovereign chain from her and sped away after sprinkling chilli powder behind them. 

Vijayakumar, who witnessed the incident, chased the duo on bike and caught up with them at a signal on Poonamallee High Road. When the constable removed the key from their bike, they tried to run away. The duo attacked him with a sharp object when he caught one of them by the collar. 

They managed to jump over a road divider and ran to the other side of the road. While jumping over the divider, Vijayakumar fell down and fractured the hand. He, however, managed to nab one of them, Arun of Pudupet, even after the injury. “I handed over Arun to another policeman, Velu, who was present there and went on to look for Arun’s accomplice. But he had escaped by then,” the constable said. 

Police nabbed Haroon on Saturday morning. Arun is a previous offender with a few cases in Kilpauk and Choolai. 

“I would have reached home in a couple of minutes. But when I saw them I became suspicious,” Vijayakumar recalled. Senior officers, including city police chief, congratulated Vijayakumar.