In a major breakthrough, Puducherry police have arrested three individuals, including a habitual offender involved in over 30 chain-snatching and robbery cases across South India.
Senior Superintendent of Police R. Kalaivanan told reporters on Thursday that the main accused, identified as P. Amul (33) of Yashwant Nagar, Maharashtra, was apprehended at the Puducherry railway station. Police said Amul had been evading arrest for nearly a decade.
Earlier this month, two women — R. Kalaivani (52) and G. Thanalakshmi (54) — were robbed of gold chains weighing three and four sovereigns respectively in Mudaliarpet and Reddiarpalayam areas. Acting on CCTV footage collected under the Smart City project, police tracked Amul to a hotel on Maraimalai Adigal Road, where he was reportedly staying as a tourist. He was later caught when he returned to collect his two-wheeler.
Further investigations led to the arrest of his accomplices — S. Sakul Hameed (36) of Kodungaiyur, Chennai, who provided the motorcycle, and V. Murthy (52) of Vyasarpadi, Chennai, a jeweler who purchased the stolen chains.
Police recovered 23 grams of gold, Rs 55,000 in cash, three mobile phones, a motorcycle, and other valuables worth around Rs 5 lakh from the trio.
Officials revealed that Amul was previously jailed in Chennai’s Puzhal prison, where he befriended Sakul Hameed. The two later teamed up for robberies across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Puducherry.
SSP Kalaivanan lauded the efforts of the special police team, including Superintendent of Police Selvam and Inspectors A. Kannan and M. Ganesh, for successfully cracking the case.
