Siblings involved in series of chain snatching cases land in police net

Coimbatore: The city police on Thursday arrested two women involved in a series of chain snatching incidents at crowded locations across the city for the past year.

According to a police officer, there were complaints about chain snatching incidents near crowded areas and bus stops in places such as Bazaar Street, Ramanathapuram, Sundarapuram, Race Course, Saibaba Colony and RS Puram. More than 30 such complaints were reported over the past year, prompting city police commissioner A Saravana Sundar to form a special team to trace and apprehend the chain snatchers.

The special team reviewed footage from more than 100 CCTV cameras across the city and found that two women were behind most of the chain snatching incidents reported from those areas.

On Thursday, plainclothes police personnel monitoring the Town Hall area noticed two women behaving suspiciously. As the duo attempted to snatch a chain from a woman, who was drinking tender coconut water, police surrounded and apprehended them.

The arrested duo were identified as Murugeshwari, 36, and Radha, 35, siblings from Dindigul. Police recovered gold ornaments weighing 20 sovereigns from them.

A police officer said the sisters were involved in several chain snatching cases in Kerala, where more than 15 cases were registered against them. "When they visit Coimbatore, they frequent crowded spots like temples and primarily target elderly people. The money from the thefts was used to buy a house and a parcel of land. They were leading a luxurious life," the officer said.