Chennai: CoP lauds 17-yr-old boy for nabbing chain-snatcher

Chennai: A 17-year-old boy became the centre of attraction in Commissioner of Police office at Chennai on Thursday, as the top cop invited and lauded him for his brave action that put a chain snatcher behind bars.

N. Suryakumar (17) of Tirumangalam chased a chain-snatcher named Janakiraman in Anna Nagar. “On Tuesday evening, Janakiraman was visiting Dr Amudha (50), a gynaecologist, at her clinic in Anna Nagar pretending to be a patient seeking doctor’s advice. But he allegedly snatched her 10 sovereign gold chain and fled the spot,” the police said.

But the young Surya, a tailor’s son, had other ideas in his mind. On seeing the snatcher fleeing the spot, Suryakumar chased him and threw some punches on Janakiraman’s face before handing him over to the police. The CCTV cameras elaborately captured the whole scene.

After coming to know about the bravery of the teen, city police commissioner A.K. Viswanathan invited the boy to his office and commended him for his bravery. Additional Commissioner (South) M.C. Sarangan, Additional Commissioner (North) H.M. Jayaram and Joint Commissioner (East) T S Anbu also lauded the boy.

“I did not think much while chasing the snatcher. I sought help from others, but all of them stood reluctant,” Surya told mediapersons. He also said the accused collapsed after punched the snatcher on his face and head.

Viswanathan also urged people to not to hesitate to help in such cases. “Police will not harass people who help others in need and their identity will not be revealed against their will,” the commissioner said.

Narayanan, a tailor and Surya’s father, said his son had dropped out of school in class 8 and started working as an AC mechanic. “Surya is a brave boy and he would not hesitate to question wrong,” the proud father said. Meanwhile, Dr Amudha and her husband Arumugam visited Surya’s house.