Chain-snatching duo watched YouTube tutorials to escape cops, held

CHENNAI: A duo who saw video tutorials on Youtube on how to escape from police after snatching chains from the public was caught on their first attempt in Mangadu.

The accused had changed clothes and used fake number plate, but police managed to catch the two.

Radha (45) of Ramapuram who came to attend a wedding ceremony in Gerugambakkam was walking towards the wedding hall when a duo who came on a bike snatched her 4-sovereign gold chain and escaped from the spot. Radha filed a complaint at the Mangadu police station. Police started to trace the snatchers with the help of CCTV in the locality and arrested Vijay (29) of Nerkundram and Padakothi Tamilan (35) of Nolambur.

The police said that the duo had watched several Youtube videos on how to escape from the cops after committing a crime. As told in the videos, they had changed their clothes and number plates of the bikes in various places before committing the crime. Later, after snatching the gold chain, the duo avoided the main road and travelled on interior streets. Later, one of them took an auto and the other person travelled to the house casually on a bike after changing their clothes.

Police said that they managed to catch the snatchers when they checked the CCTV footage in reverse from the evening before the incident happened. The police browsed the CCTV footage of over 600 cameras in the locality and found two of them were travelling in various streets in different clothes and bike numbers plates. This is the first attempt of the duo to snatch the chains since they had no money for buying narcotics. The police have registered a case and further inquiry is on.