4 chain snatching incidents within 25 minutes rock Vizag

In what came as a major shocker, four chain snatching incidents within a span of 25 minutes were reported in Vizag on Thursday. The robberies, which started off at Buchirajupalem, were subsequently reported at Shantinagar (near NAD), Marripalem, and Balayya Sastri Layout in the city.

In the first of the four incidents, Karri Mangamma (63), a resident of Buchirajupalem, was robbed off her gold chain by two youngsters on a bike at 8 a.m, while she was reportedly walking to a store nearby her house. Following this, around 8:10 a.m, the same wrongdoers, made Nirmalakumari of Shantinagar their victim. The chain-snatching spree then went on to mar Marripalem’s VUDA layout when M.Hemalatha was attacked whilst on her scooter. The final incident was reported at 8:25 a.m when Balayya Sastri Layout’s Venkatalakshmi fell prey to the two chain-snatchers on a rather deserted road.

Reportedly, the robbers accounted for close to 215.8 grams of gold in their 25-minutes stint. With the incidents leaving the residents in shock, the city’s police are leaving no stone unturned in trying to identify the miscreants and have search operations across Vizag. On the basis of the footage from the CC cameras at the respective places, the authorities are, reportedly, speculating the involvement of the same gang in all the four incidents. The robbers, who rode a black-coloured bike, are expected to be below 25 years of age. As a part of the investigation, the police have taken five suspected individuals into custody on Thursday night.