Snatchers on prowl, 4 women lose chains

Stepping up efforts to nab the suspects, the Tiruvallur police on Sunday released their picture hoping to get some clues about them from the public.

In the first incident, the victim, Deepa (39), wife of Krishnan residing in Manavala Nagar in Tiruvallur, was walking home after going to a neighbourhood shop on Saturday. Two men on a bike, who approached her from behind, snatched her five sovereign chain and fled the spot on their bike before she could react.

Shortly after that incident, a teacher from Vepampattu who was returning from work lost her eight sovereign chain to the same duo, said the police. “The men on bike snatched the gold chain of Ashwini (23), who works as a teacher in Tiruvallur. She was returning home after work when she fell prey to the snatchers,” the police noted.

In another incident, which is suspected to be executed by the same criminals, a 50-year-old woman was relieved of her chain outside her house. Dhanalakshmi had come out of the house to get some fresh air when the men snatched her six sovereign chain and escaped.

In the last incident reported at Velliyur, a 70-year-old woman lost her gold chain to two men on a bike. Kasturi was walking to her relative’s house nearby when the duo snatched her five sovereign chain.

The Tiruvallur police have started hunting for the suspects and released their pictures in an attempt to identify them. Frequent snatchings have created panic among the residents.