CHENNAI: Posing as customers, a duo assaulted an elderly woman, who was running a fancy shop and relieved her of 12 sovereigns gold jewels at Saligramam here on Monday night.
Police said the incident took place when the woman, Banumathi, (58), a resident of Virugambakkam, was getting ready to close the shop. The duo, who arrived inquiring for a couple of items which were on display, made the lonely woman go further inside making it easy for them to corner her.
One of the conmen grabbed a stick from the shop and hit her heavily on the head in which she collapsed. Before she could gather herself up and raise an alarm, the other one pulled out a knife and threatened her with dire consequences if she failed to part with her jewels.
With the 12 sovereign gold tucked in a bag, the robbers fled the spot in their two-wheelers. Later, Banumathi got out of the shop and alerted the neighbours about the robbery.
The neighbours admitted her to a private hospital in Saligramam where she is being treated for the injuries.Based on woman’s complaint, the Virugambakkam Police registered a case.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the duo had gathered reccee a couple of times before they had struck. “They were aware of the fact that she would be alone in the evening until the closure of the shop,” a police official said.
“We are in the process of analysing the CCTV footages which are available and collected from all the escape routes from the shop,” the police official added futher.
Murder Bid Foiled
City Police claimed to have foiled a murder on Tuesday with the arrest of a three-member gang, who had recently been released from prison.
Police said the arrested trio identified as ‘Pallu’ Madan aka Madan Gopal, (38), of Pallikaranai, Sathish, (25), of Maduravoyal, and Vijayakumar, (24), also from Maduravoyal, were picked up by a patrol team when they were in Mannar Mudali II street in Vadapalani. The trio, when taken into custody, confessed to the cops that they were there to murder a rival gang member, reportedly accused of murdering one of their accomplice— Jai of Maduravoyal.
The three got acquainted with each other during their stay in the prison.
Madan was a suspect in four murder cases, Sathish a suspect in a single murder cases while Vijayakumar was into waylaying when he was booked.