An eight-member gang waylaid three youth, including two college students, and robbed them of their belongings, including motorbikes, mobile phones and a gold chain, at Irattai Palam near Paruvamedu village in Nemili Police Station jurisdiction during the early hours of Tuesday. The stolen valuables were worth about `1.50 lakh.
Kadhar (26), a resident of Mecheri in Salem, along with two of his friends Kaviarasan (22) of Vellore and Diwakar (21) of Chennai (names changed), who were final year students of a deemed university in Kancheepuram, were returning to Kancheepuram on two motorbikes, after attending the reception of their friend in Sholinghur town, said the police.
The gang members, all believed to be in their 20s, intercepted the trio at Rettai Palam, around 4 km from Thangal junction, around 1 am on Tuesday. “On seeing us, the youth blocked the road and shouted at us to stop. We stopped and were petrified on seeing the gang, wielding deadly weapons and surrounding us,” said one of the victims.
“They demanded that we hand over our money, gold chain and mobile phones. I refused to give my gold chain. Then, they started hitting me on my face and injured my shoulders. They finally snatched my chain and took away my wallet and phone,” one of the victims said.
On seeing this, Kaviarasan’s friends also gave away their wallets and mobile phones. “They also took away two bikes that we had borrowed from our friends and fled. They had three bikes,” he said and added that the gang robbed three mobile phones, wallets with around `8,000 in cash and an ATM card from them.
After the dacoits left, Khadar took a mobile phone kept in his inner pocket and contacted the 108 ambulance service for help. They were shifted to the Arakkonam GH around 2 am. Police rushed to the hospital and held an inquiry with the victims and registered a case and launched a search.