MADURAI: Residents of Mandramalaipatti village on Monday caught, thrashed and handed over to police three teenage boys, believed to be robbers. The villagers waylaid the boys’ bike after they received a WhatsApp message alerting their movement from a man who had reportedly fallen victim to the gang earlier.The man who posted the message is one V Kalaiselvan from Paliyurpatti. According to sources, the boys, aged 17 and 18, reportedly robbed Kalaiselvan of `3,500 at knife-point in Kannapuram on Sunday afternoon. Kalaiselvan, however, did not lodge a police complaint, sources added.
On Monday, while Kalaiselvan was heading to Vannamparaipatti, he spotted the boys riding triples. When Kalaiselvan’s attempt to follow the trio failed, he took a photo of the bike and posted it along with an alert message on a WhatsApp group in which he knew some residents of nearby villages were members.
A policeman from Keezhavalavu station said, “Within 45 minutes of the message getting posted, a group of villagers stopped and detained the boys at Mandramalaipatti.” The villages had thrashed the boys before handing them over to the police, the officer added.Cases against the boys Sources said that two of three suspects were accused in a murder that took place in Kovilangulam police station limits in Ramanathapuram. All the three are dropouts. The Keelavalavau police registered case under IPC Section 392 (punishment for robbery) and arrested them.