CCTV footage helps nab conman

CHENNAI: Police on Friday arrested a 31-year-old man for cheating a 60year-old woman of diamond jewellery and cash worth '11 lakh in Virugambakkam last week.
C Benjamin, a resident of Rajamangalam, was nabbed near an Andhra Bank branch in Virugambakkam. During questioning, Benjamin confessed to having committed the crime with his associates Appu, Vimal and Karikalan, all residents of Rajamangalam.The stolen diamond necklace, two diamond rings and three pairs of diamond earrings, apart from `1 lakh, were seized.
Benjamin was remanded in judicial custody after being produced before a magistrate court on Saturday .Police have also launched a hunt for his accomplices. The woman, S Rama Devi, a resident of Ratna Nagar in Virugambakkam, came out of a nationalised bank branch with the jewellery bag on December 19. As she started her scooter, Benjamin sprayed some acid on the back of her neck. His associate, posing as a passerby, then told her to wash her neck with some water from a nearby shop. When Devi returned to her twowheeler, she found the jewellery bag missing.
Based on her complaint, the Virugambakkam police registered a case and collected CCTV footage from outside the bank premises. Police lay in wait for him near banks in the locality and finally nabbed him when he came to target another victim. Benjamin was also involved in a robbery at Alapakkam near Maduravoyal on November 11.
Police said his gang stole `1 lakh from Brahmaji Rao, 63, a resident of Alapakkam, when he was returning home after withdrawing cash from a bank branch.
Benjamin also confessed that he had struck at other places in Chennai, Erode and Andhra Pradesh using the same modus operandi. Further investigations are on.