A 23-year-old man who attacked a woman shop owner and snatched her gold chain in Kompally was chased and caught by local residents before being arrested by the Petbasheerabad police within hours of the offence.

The accused, identified as Malladi Narasimha alias Nani, a native of East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, who was staying at a boys’ hostel in Ameerpet, was later taken into custody by police after residents overpowered him while he was trying to flee.

The incident took place around 6 p.m. on May 25 at an oil store in Jayabheri Park, Kompally. The complainant, Bijjam Malleswari, who runs B.R. Fresh Extracts, told police that she was alone in the shop when the accused entered the premises.

According to police, the accused threw oil bottles at the woman, assaulted her with fist blows causing bleeding injuries, and forcibly snatched her gold wedding chain before running away from the scene.

However, residents in the locality who noticed the accused fleeing, chased him through the area and managed to catch him before alerting the police.

Officials from Petbasheerabad police rushed to the spot and arrested the accused from the custody of local residents.

During investigation, police found that the accused had recently quit his job and had turned to theft and snatching for easy money. Officers recovered the stolen gold wedding chain weighing about 30.453 grams from his possession.

The accused was later produced before the court.

Police also stated that another inter-State offender, Hasan Ali from Nashik in Maharashtra, linked to an Irani gang, was recently arrested in connection with a separate chain-snatching case registered at Petbasheerabad police.

N. Koti Reddy advised the public, especially women and senior citizens, to remain cautious around strangers and report suspicious activity through Dial 100.