Chennai: A pistol-wielding chain snatcher from Jharkhand was shot dead by the police while his accomplice was nabbed after a massive search operation in a forest area where the duo was hiding near Sriperumpudur, in neighbouring Kancheepuram district, about 40 km from Chennai.
According to the Kancheepuram police, the deceased, Murtaza, hailing from Jharkhand, had opened fire at the special team engaged in the combing operation at Melvalurkuppam in the Pennalur forest area, which closed in on him. “We have to open in self-defence, and he died on the spot,” a police official said adding that the accomplice of the deceased, Nadheem Akthar, was overpowered and arrested.
It was the culmination of a combing operation by over 200 police personnel led by Kancheepuram DIG, M Satya Priya, since yesterday afternoon. Sriperumpudur is an industrial corridor and the news of pistol-wielding thieves in the area had rattled the residents. North Zone IGP too arrived at Sriperumpudur to take stock of the situation.
The duo, in the guise of asking for an address, waylaid a sanitary worker, Indirani, working at the toll plaza when she was heading for work, and snatched away her six sovereign gold chain and fled the scene. On hearing her raising an alarm, some nearby people chased the duo. But they gave up the chase when the robbers flaunted a pistol and threatened to open fire. And before the police could rush to the spot, the accused had gone into hiding in the Pennalur forest area adjoining a lake.