CHENNAI: A 46-year-old project manager with a private IT firm was arrested on charges of attempting to snatch a gold chain from a 24-year-old woman after spraying pepper spray on her face at the Tambaram Sanatorium pedestrian foot overbridge.
Police said debts from online trading losses allegedly drove him to commit the offence. The victim, Bhuvaneswari, who works at a financial firm in Tambaram, was returning home after work when she stopped at the foot overbridge to distribute sweets to destitute elderly people seated there.
Police said the accused, Kuppusamy of Pammal, approached her, sprayed pepper spray on her face and tried to snatch her gold chain. Bhuvaneswari raised an alarm, following which passersby caught him, assaulted him and handed him over to Tambaram police.
During investigation, police found that Kuppusamy, a BCom graduate, worked as a project manager with a private IT company on OMR. He had allegedly suffered heavy losses in online trading and accumulated debts. He had sold his house in Pammal for around Rs 60 lakh to repay loans but continued to face financial liabilities.
The police said he worked at an MNC and earned around a lakh per month. However, he lost everything in the stock market. With mounting debts and pressure to repay them in a few days, he got involved in the offence. Police said he allegedly decided to steal jewellery to raise money to clear his debts. He was remanded in judicial custody.