CHENNAI: It was 7 pm on Sunday night. Sixty-six-year-old Jayapandi had just parked his two-wheeler on a street at the Majestic colony in Virugambakkam when two bike-borne men stopped next to him in the pretext of asking for directions.
A few seconds into the conversation, the pillion rider snatched Jayapandi’s mobile from his shirt pocket and they fled, mercilessly dragging him several metres on the street while he tried to stop them.
Cell phone robberies in the city had reached a peak in July.
The typical modus operandi seemed to be to target people walking on the street and fleeing with their cellphones in a matter of seconds. Following this, the city police tightened the security across the city, which brought down the rate of mobile snatching incidents to a large extent.
But sporadic incidents continue to be reported and this incident on Sunday has come as a shock since the robbers dragged the victim.
The city police said that Jayapandi sells jaggery in residential colonies on his two-wheeler.
“On Sunday night, he was at Majestic Colony to sell jaggery, when two men on a scooty approached him asking for an address and snatched the cell phone from his shirt pocket,” said a police officer.
The incident was recorded on a CCTV camera of the street. Even as the victim managed to get hold of the motorbike, the robbers did not spot.
The locals, on hearing the screams, came to Jayapandi’s rescue and took him to a nearby private hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.
The Valasaravakkam police have filed a case and investigations are on.
Modus Operandi
Cell phone robberies in the city had reached a peak in July. The typical modus operandi seemed to be to target people walking on the street and fleeing with their cell phones in a matter of seconds. The city police tightened the security across the city, which brought down the rate of mobile snatching incidents to a large extent.