CHENNAI: After squandering more than Rs 10 lakh on online gambling, a 27-year-old civil engineer allegedly took to chain snatching to settle his debts, but ran out of luck there as well. On his very first attempt, he was caught, thrashed, and arrested.
The youngster, Saravanan, who works for a construction firm in Nungambakkam and hails from Erode district, allegedly snatched a chain from a 50-year-old woman returning from a wedding reception in West Mambalam on Monday. She raised an alarm and passersby intercepted Saravanan, who was on a bike.
They beat him up until personnel from the Ashok Nagar police station arrived and secured him. A preliminary investigation revealed that Saravanan lost more than Rs 10 lakh in online gambling and was in debt. With the help from family and friends, he collected about Rs 3 lakh, and was desperate to clear the rest of his debt, police said. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.