MiD DAY brings you an exciting first-person account from a courageous citizen who helped the police nab Sudarshan Reddy, leader of a gang that had snatched chains worth Rs 10 lakh
MiD DAY brings you an exciting first-person account from a courageous citizen who helped the police nab Sudarshan Reddy, leader of a gang that had snatched chains worth Rs 10 lakh
Chain-snatcher Sudarshan Reddy (23), who had spread fear among women in south Bangalore, is finally cooling his heels in police custody, thanks to a courageous businessman who chased him on a bike and cornered him.
MiD DAY met H K Ramesh, who pursued the criminal on a motorbike and helped the police catch Reddy. He described the most exciting ten minutes of his life. In his own words:
I was chatting with friends when I saw two men come by on a motorbike. The one on the pillion suddenly stretched his hand out and snatched the gold chain from the neck of a 60-year-old woman.
Hundreds of people stood around, stunned, while the crooks sped away. I told my friend, who had parked his bike near the darshini restaurant, to quickly start it. I hopped on to the pillion, and we started chasing him.
I had Inspector S K Umesh's phone number with me, and I called him. It seems he had already got a call about a chain-snatching incident in the area.
'He lost balance and fell'
He was out in the neighbourhood, looking out for these two men.
I told him the chain-snatchers had gone behind Ragi Gudda. He came riding fast from that direction. Meanwhile, we were chasing him from this end. Caught between the two of us, the chain-snatcher realised there was no way he could escape.
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The scene of crime: The spot in J P Nagar where Sudarshan Reddy snatched an elderly woman's chainu00a0pic/Satish Badiger |
Just as Inspector Umesh was about to grab him by the collar, he lost balance and fell down from the bike. He pulled out a knife, and tried to fling it at Umesh. We were just a few feet away, and thought the inspector would be injured. Suddenly, a bullet shot rang out in the air. Umesh had pulled out his revolver and shot the chain-snatcher in the leg. The man riding the bike knew he was in for big trouble if he tried to save his accomplice, and vroomed away.
The police then took him away to hospital. The inspector had later recommended my name for an award.
Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari called me and gave me a reward and a certificate.
Everything happened on the spur of the moment.
The chain-snatcher was in such close proximity that my friend and I had the confidence that we could nab him. The police later came to know that the chain-snatchers had followed this elderly lady for some time.
'We've recovered 67 chains'Inspector S K Umesh of JP Nagar police station told MiD DAY the nabbing of Sudarshan Reddy was a much-needed breakthrough.
Here's his account of how it all happened:We used to get complaints of chain snatching every day, and we were looking for this gang. Thanks to alert citizen Ramesh who chased Sudarshan Reddy and called me, we were able to catch the full gang. We have recovered 67 chains, worth about Rs 10 lakh.
Sudarshan Reddy pulled out a dagger and tried to attack me, which is why I had to shoot at him. As policemen, we are trained to be alert when we are chasing and cornering criminals. I was prepared when he tried to attack me.
We have cracked 27 cases already, thanks to this arrest. We have caught seven men in all, besides Sudarshan Reddy. Five were chain-snatchers, and the other two were receivers who would wait on their bikes and flee with the booty.
I am very happy we were able to catch the gang. I have been given a reward by the police commissioner, but I should also say in any such case, half the credit goes to an alert public. They need not fear when they help us catch criminals, because we will stand by them.
Ravi, the bike rider who was with Reddy, was caught later that day by the Mico Layout police. My colleagues there deserve thanks.
