City police on Thursday arrested two women, sisters from Dindigul, who were allegedly involved in a series of chain snatching incidents across crowded areas in Coimbatore over the past year.
Acting on over 30 complaints from areas such as Bazaar Street, Ramanathapuram, Sundarapuram, Race Course, Saibaba Colony, and RS Puram, City Police Commissioner A Saravana Sundar formed a special team to track down the culprits.
The team analyzed footage from more than 100 CCTV cameras, eventually identifying two women as the primary suspects in most of the reported cases.
On Thursday, plainclothes police personnel patrolling the Town Hall area noticed two women acting suspiciously. As the duo tried to snatch a gold chain from a woman drinking tender coconut water, officers swiftly surrounded and apprehended them.
The arrested have been identified as Murugeshwari (36) and Radha (35), siblings from Dindigul. Police recovered gold ornaments weighing 20 sovereigns from their possession.
A senior officer revealed that the duo had also committed similar crimes in Kerala, where over 15 cases are registered against them. “They usually visit crowded places like temples and bus stops in Coimbatore and target elderly women. The money stolen was used to purchase a house and a parcel of land, enabling them to lead a luxurious lifestyle,” he added.
Police are continuing their investigation and may file additional charges linked to other unsolved thefts.
