Chennai, March 26 ,2025
The Greater Chennai Police are interrogating a third suspect in connection with a spate of serial chain-snatching incidents reported across the city in recent days.
The suspect, Salman, who had fled Chennai on Tuesday (March 25), was apprehended by the Andhra Pradesh Government Railway Police in Nellore on Wednesday morning.
He was later handed over to the Chennai police for further investigation.
Authorities are now focusing on recovering more stolen items and obtaining additional details about Salman’s associates.
Earlier today, one of the prime suspects, Jaffer, was killed in a police encounter. According to official sources, Jaffer opened fire on police personnel during an attempt to recover stolen jewellery.
In retaliation, police shot him dead. His body has been sent to the Royapettah Government Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
Jaffer, a native of Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Tuesday along with his accomplice Suraj at Chennai Airport while attempting to board a flight to New Delhi.
Both men are believed to have been involved in multiple chain-snatching cases across Chennai.
The encounter reportedly took place in the Taramani area, where police had taken Jaffer to recover the stolen jewellery.
During the operation, he allegedly attacked Inspector Buhari and tried to escape, prompting the police to open fire.
Police officials revealed that Jaffer had been on the run since 2020 and was wanted by the Maharashtra Police.
He is believed to have been involved in nearly 50 chain-snatching cases. Along with Suraj, he targeted morning walkers and pedestrians in areas such as East Coast Road (ECR), Adyar, and Besant Nagar.
The duo had stolen gold jewellery worth around Rs 10 lakh, equivalent to approximately 16 sovereigns.
During the operation, the police also seized a two-wheeler and a firearm used by Jaffer.
Jaffer’s death marks the fourth police encounter under the leadership of Chennai’s new Commissioner of Police, A. Arun, who assumed office on July 7, 2024. His appointment followed the brutal murder of Bahujan Samaj Party’s Tamil Nadu President, K. Armstrong, on July 5, 2024.
These consecutive encounter killings have drawn scrutiny from the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), which has summoned Commissioner A. Arun to provide an explanation. Notably, during his inaugural media briefing, Commissioner Arun had declared that the police would “deal with rowdies in the language they understand.”
