Dacoity bid foiled as teen boy acts swiftly

The valuables belong to S Krishnan (54), who runs a vegetable shop in Villivakkam and resides in a three-storey building in Senthil Nagar with his wife Amudha and three children -- two daughters and a son. The incident happened around 7 pm on Saturday when Krishnan and his son Sriranjan (17) were at the vegetable shop. 

Police said Amudha and her elder daughter Vishnupriya had isolated themselves on the second floor of the house since they had COVID symptoms and younger daughter Vaishnavi was alone on the first floor. A five-member gang that reached the street in a car barged into the house by breaking the grilled gate on the first floor and gagged Vaishnavi with a plaster. Later, they demanded the girl for cupboard keys and filled their bags with bundles of cash. 

Just when they were stepping out, Sriranjan reached the house and climbed the stairs when he spotted the men with gunny bags. He hid and noticed they were walking towards the car parked outside. To gain the attention of neighbours, he broke the car’s windshield with a heavy object and the panicked gang fled the spot abandoning the gunny bag. Sriranjan found cash along with machetes inside the bag and alerted his father Krishnan. 

Rajamangalam police and senior officers visited the spot and conducted inquiries. Sniffer dogs were also brought to the spot. A case has been registered and a hunt has been launched for the suspects with the help of CCTV footage from the neighbourhood.