Thief's escape bid kills teacher, evening walker

Chennai: A 24-year-old schoolteacher and a retired PWD employee lost their lives when a thief tried to make away with 25,000 he snatched from a relative of the former at Foreshore Estate late on Monday.
Nandhini, a teacher at Vael's Billabong High International School in Neelankarai, and her cousin Najju, alias Gayathri, 20, a college student, had stopped their scooter in front of an ATM at 9.45pm. After Najju withdrew cash, they were riding back home.When they reached South Canal Bank Road, a helmet-wearing man on a bike snatched Najju's bag. Nandhini gave the man a chase on her two-wheeler. Riding parallel, the man gave the duo a hard push. Nandhini lost balance, hit a pavement, and fatally knocked down K Sheker, a retired PWD employee on his usual walk back home from the beach, on Loop Road. The scooter then hit a boulder and a barricade. Nandhini sustained head injuries and died on the spot. Najju was taken to the Royapettah government hospital with hip injuries.
Residents block road, demand Tasmac shop be shifted
The youth rode into a dead end before being caught by people. A police patrol team which took custody of the accused said he was drunk. The irate mob set his bike on fire.
Nandhini was the only daughter of Vadivelu and Selvi while Sheker is survived by his wife, Uma Maheshwari. Police identified the accused as N Karunakaran, 32.
Nandhini's mother mourns her death on Tuesday. Residents of Foreshore Estate staged a road blockade demanding immediate shifting of a Tasmac outlet from where Karunakaran had reportedly consumed liquor.
Holding back tears, Najju said, "I do not know what happened. I only heard loud cries of my sister." Sheker's relatives said he was on his routine walk to the beach when the accident happened. Residents of Foreshore Estate staged a road blockade demanding immediate shifting of a Tasmac outlet from where Karunakaran had reportedly consumed liquor.
"There were no patrol vehicles in the vicinity at the time of incident. We do not want the liquor shop here, and that is the primary cause for the tragedy," Nandhini's father Vadivelu said.
Deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Mylapore, V Balakrishnan pacified the agitators and city police commissioner T K Rajendran visited the spot. "Karunakaran, a resident of Red Hills was not involved in any offence previously. We have booked him on the charges of robbery and culpable homicide not amounting to murder," said the DCP said.
A huge posse of policemen were posted in the area.