Chennai police nab two robbers bravely fought off by aged couple

The two men were involved in anther chain-snatching crime at Ponmalai Nagar and fled from the area, the SP said.

Tirunelveli: Prolonged search through a maze of clues and CCTV images, the police have finally nabbed the two men who had attacked and robbed an elderly couple at a farmhouse near here about two months ago. Balamurugan (30) and Perumal (54), nabbed on Wednesday, are history sheeters with the former having 38 cases registered across Tamil Nadu while the latter has eight cases in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi, Superintendent of Police P Arun Sakthikumar told reporters here on Thursday.

He said among the items recovered from the accused was the mangalsutra weighing 35 gms snatched from Senthamarai, 65, while she and her husband Shanmugasundaram, 70, put up a brave fight with the masked robbers and forced them to flee without causing more harm in their desolate farmhouse. The video of that ‘battle’ had gone viral on social media and led to the state government conferring the Bravery Awards on the couple on the Independence Day.

“We have also recovered two aruvals and clothes worn by the accused on that night of August 11,”he said adding that an air gun has also been recovered from the accused. The aruvals and the gun were stolen from the motor room of another farm close by.

After the attack on the old couple, the two men were involved in anther chain-snatching crime at Ponmalai Nagar and fled from the area, the SP said.

He had formed special police teams which fanned out to various places to question suspects and also to scrutinise huge stock of CCTV images from multiple cameras in the region. Over 20 men with criminal background were picked up for ‘intense questioning’. All this elaborate police work led to the arrest of the accused ultimately, said SP Arun Sakthikumar, adding that he had arranged to get the government to reward the constables, sub-inspectors and the Investigating Officer, who cracked the case.