CHENNAI: A 78-year-old man has been arrested by the city police for allegedly diverting the attention of elderly people visiting the government hospital and stealing gold jewels from them.
The person identified as Pusharajan, a native of Tiruvallur has been at large for the past six years, police said.
A senior police officer said Pusharajan, would roam around in the government hospitals and target elderly women and promise to get them old-age pension and offer help to apply for other government scheme.
"He would then advise them of chain snatching and ask them to keep their valuables in their bag and offer to wrap the valuables in a paper which he swaps it with stone or artificial chains," said the officer.
Police found that he targeted government hospitals and based on the CCTV footage, police nabbed him on Friday from a clinic where he is undergoing treatment at Perungalathur.
Police recovered 50 sovereigns of gold jewels from him and a magistrate court has remanded him to judicial custody.