Bengaluru: A former software engineer, with more than 70 cases of chain-snatching against him across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, has been arrested after an attempt to rob an elderly woman in Bengaluru’s Peenya led to an accident that put the city police on his trail.
The Peenya Police have recovered Rs 3.7 lakh worth of gold chains and 15 SIM cards from the accused, Jayakumar, who used to work with a multinational software company.
Peenya Police Inspector Mudduraj told ThePrint that Jayakumar’s modus operandi was simple — he would go around the city on his two-wheeler and observe women who were alone and wearing enough gold for him to make a fast buck. He would follow them for a while and when he found the right opportunity, he would snatch their belongings.
“We had enough information about his previous cases and there were several warrants against him in police stations across the city. It was not easy to track him as he had absconded after being granted bail in October 2019 by a Bengaluru court. He was being tracked by the Peenya Police after a complaint was filed by a resident of Kempegowda Nagar,” said Inspector Mudduraj.
On 13 August, Jayakumar had followed an elderly woman who was wearing a 60 gm gold chain as she was on her way to an event in Peenya. Jayakumar rammed his two-wheeler into her, snatched her chain and sped off.
Due to the impact of the collision, the woman fell to the ground and was badly injured. When the Peenya Police received this complaint, they began scouring through CCTV footage of nearby areas to track the culprit. In one camera, they managed to spot Jayakumar’s face. His movement was being tracked for over a month and finally, a police team traced him to his home in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri and arrested him.
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From computers to crime
Jayakumar completed his engineering and had been working with a MNC as a team manager until he was asked to leave in 2012. “He was an alcoholic and indulged in other vices like gambling as well,” said Inspector Mudduraj.
Jayakumar then joined a gang of notorious habitual offenders who trained him in the art of chain snatching. “He initially worked along with Karthik and Arun, who are part of a chain-snatching gang. But later, he began to operate on his own,” Mudduraj said.
The Bengaluru police have been on a massive drive against chain-snatchers as the number of cases has spiked since 2019. A special team has been formed to nab chain-snatchers and CCTV footage from various crime scenes is being analysed to see if there is a pattern in the way they operate.
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