For pocket money, engineering student snatches phones

Police have arrested Vijay (20), a resident of Old Washermanpet and his 17-year-old associate who is a resident of Korukkupet. Police have recovered 10 mobile phones worth Rs. 1.5 lakh, which were snatched by the two from pedestrians in places like Anna Salai, Triplicane and Chintadripet. 

The city police had formed a special team under Triplicane Deputy Commissioner of Police after several cases of mobile phone snatching were reported in the area. The special team tracked the IMEI number of a mobile phone that was stolen recently with the help of the cybercrime wing and picked up a youth who was found using the phone. 

When police interrogated him, he told the them that he had purchased the mobile phone from a shop in Burma Bazaar. 

“We took the person to the mobile phone showroom and found that the mobile phone was sold to the shop owner by a youth. The showroom owner had taken a copy of the ID card of the youth and the ID card address led us to Vijay. 

When we nabbed him, he confessed to the crime. We later picked up his minor associate,” a police official attached to Anna Salai police said. Police said Vijay, from a wellto-do family, committed the offence for pocket money. “

Vijay is studying engineering at a private engineering college at Minjur. His elder sister works as a doctor,” police said. Vijay had recently purchased a brand new two-wheeler costing Rs. 78,000 last month. Police have recovered the vehicle used to commit the crime.  “The minor associate is a catering college student and the two splurged on the money they earned from the thefts,” police added.