COIMBATORE: A 23 -year-old youth and his girlfriend, were caught by the public, while allegedly trying to rob an old man in Bommanampalayam near Vadavalli in Coimbatore on Friday evening. The duo approached the elderly man, who was alone at home, asking for water and allegedly assaulted him, gagged him with duct tape and tied him up with a rope.
Earlier on August 4, the duo, using the same modus operandi, robbed Rs 28,000 cash and a mobile phone from another elderly man near Mullai Nagar in the city, who was staying alone, said police.The accused, identified as A Dinesh Kumar (23) of Vathirairuppu (Watrap) near Srivilliputhur in Virudhunagar and D Senbagavalli alias Priya (24), Maruthi Nagar near Singanallur in Coimbatore, are both engineering graduates and they met through Instagram.
The victim, R Periya Rayappan (76), resides with his wife Rajammal at Mariyamman Kovil Street in Bommanampalayam village.Around 3 pm, the suspects went to Rayappan’s house and asked him for water, after confirming that he was alone. They followed him inside the house, assaulted him and tied him and gagged him with tape. Then they took Rs 1,500 cash and 18 grams of gold and were about to flee from the house, when the elderly man’s son, Babu, returned. He raised an alarm, and with the help of the neighbours, caught them and informed the police.Vadavalli police seized the valuables. and and remanded them in prison on Saturday. They told the police that it was their second robbery.