A 22-year-old man who reportedly snatched the bag of a French student while giving her a ride home was arrested by the city police in Anna Salai on Friday night.
Police identified the accused as Mohammed Yusuf (22), who had completed Plus Two and was working in a shop in Ritchie Street. They said that the woman reportedly hit Yusuf when he was giving her a ride home after she met with a minor accident. The man reportedly took her through a dark alley on Sivaganga Road in Nungambakkam, which got the woman worked up.
Police said Sarah Goldberg (20), a French National doing her first year MA (Political Science) at Madras University, was hit by a water tanker at the Sterling Road junction on Friday when she was riding back home after a late night movie.
While she was gathering herself up, Yusuf reportedly offered to drop her home on her scooter, leaving his bike locked on the roadside. Sarah rode with him as a pillion, but the youth reportedly drove the vehicle to a dark alley, which got Sarah worried. She began hitting him on his shoulders, which infuriated Yusuf. He halted the bike and threw her down. Then, he allegedly snatched her bag and fled the spot. Sarah approached Nungambakkam Police later on Friday and registered a complaint.
Special teams were formed with Inspectors Senthil Kumar, Shibu Kumar and others. Based on a tip off from a person known to Yusuf, the cops narrowed down on the accused, who was intercepted on Anna Salai on Saturday. After interrogations, the stolen bag was recovered.
Sarah’s French citizenship card, a credit card, some cash and her apartment keys were found intact in her bag. Yusuf could converse well in English and had worked in Malaysia as well, police said.
“Had she not hit the youth, the whole situation could have been handled well. She panicked and beat him up which enraged him, since his intention was only to help the woman. To make her feel at a loss, he did that. And this was his first offence,” a senior police officer said.