Snatcher perfects skill from film Metro

Chennai: Metro, a Kollywood potboiler chronicling chain snatching as a contemporary trade among criminal fledglings, became the Bible for a serial chain snatching suspect, who was involved in at least 13 snatchings reported in Mylapore Police district alone.

The suspect, identified as M. Udayanidhi aka Appu aka Janta (25), a former resident of Royapettah, chose the neighbourhood of Mylapore as his operating base since he knew it like the back of his hand.

The suspect has been living on Karunidhi Nagar 4th street in R.K.Nagar police station limit for the past 7 months. Initially, he started off as a plumber. He then switched his interest to lorry engine maintenance, which his father was involved in, before he was fixated on chain snatchings. The school dropout had the movie itself downloaded in his mobile and had confessed that he would watch it repeatedly for perfecting his strikes.

Introduced to the snatching trade by his friend Akbar, a ganja addict, Udayanidhi stuck to it. Three months ago, the latter snatched a woman’s bag in Triplicane to fill petrol since the former was reluctant to take his Yamaha R15 out for a long ride citing funds crunch.

Since then Udayanidhi has been on a snatching spree with Akbar and two other accomplices — Burma aka Paramasivam, and Ajeez. He either pledged or sold the snatched gold chains with his target group is senior citizens, and lone women from Triplicane, Mylapore, and Royapettah.

On Sunday, Udayanidhi who operated alone, had struck three women in Mylapore. The victims were Mallika (50), who works as a maid and is a resident of Nochikuppam, Amudha (45), who runs a grocery shop in Karaneswarar temple street and Anjaali (42), resident of Kuli Thottam, Santhome High road.
Prior to the string of snatchings on Sunday, the cops had already formed special teams and had the input of a white Yamaha R15 rider and his pillion rider being involved in snatchings.

Cops were already in possession of footage from surveillance cameras from past incidents of snatchings and they were shared among other police stations looking for breakthroughs besides forming special squads.

Royapettah Inspector (Crime) Sathyaseelan, who is among the special parties formed to crackdown on chain snatchings, spotted the youth on white Yamaha R15 talking to woman on Lloyds Road at 6.30 am, about 35 minutes before he made the hit on Anjalai, on Sunday.

Before the cop could get near the woman, the youth left the spot. The woman said that she knew Udayanidhi only through another woman and that acquaintance was traced.

With the help of the previous CCTV footage the identity of Udayanidhi was established and he was subsequently arrested on Tuesday.  As much as 11 sovereigns gold, Rs 42,000 in cash and his bike (Yamaha R15 TN03 S 9131) were recovered from his possession.