ERODE: The police are there to protect and serve, even if you are a thief!
A 35-year-old thief would have got the taste of this motto, as he just had to dial 100 to avail of the police help to escape from the group of people who were chasing him. The suspect has been identified as Vijayakumar (35) of Rajapatti in Pudukkottai district, residing at Karipatti in Salem.
The police said the incident happened on September 7 around 9.10 pm at the locked house of Sharmiladevi and her husband Sivakumar at Sivasakthi Avenue near M Pudupalayam in Kanjilkoil. When the husband and wife returned home around 10.45 pm, they found the front door open, and the lights on the first floor on.
Sensing someone inside, Sharmiladevi shouted for help. By then, Vijayakumar had broken into the house already fled on his bike. Hearing Sharmiladevi’s cries, the neighbours and passersby also began chasing him.
Meanwhile, when Sharmiladevi went inside the house and checked, she found that 11 grams of gold jewellery and a silver coin had been stolen.
The man, who hid himself to escape from the crowd, called the police as he had no go. Kanjikoil police rushed to the spot and arrested him. The police also recovered his two-wheeler. Vijayakumar was formally arrested on Tuesday. However, the police have officially filed that he was arrested during a vehicle check, sources said.
“Vijayakumar was employed at a construction site. On the day of the incident, he had gone to Coimbatore on a bike and returned towards Salem. At that time, he noticed the house was locked and attempted to burgle it. The jewels were recovered from him. An investigation is under way to determine whether he is involved in other cases,” a police officer added.
