Chennai: A 45-year-old woman passenger was waylaid by a share auto rickshaw driver and his accomplice near Villivakkam on Monday night.
The police arrested driver Kanikkai Raj and his accomplice Anandan on Tuesday based on the woman’s complaint. Investigations revealed that Raj had stolen the autorickshaw too 10 months ago.
The victim, Jayashree, a resident of Sidco Nagar in Villivakkam was waiting for a bus to reach Koyambedu when she flagged the auto seeing it was going towards Koyambedu.
However, within a few minutes into the journey, Jayashree realised that the auto driver was taking vehicle via Maduravoyal towards Ambattur Estate. Alarmed, the woman questioned the auto driver and asked him to stop the vehicle.
The accused had taken the vehicle to a secluded spot and held the woman at knife-point, asking her to part away with her valuables. They escaped with her smart phone and wallet containing Rs 3,000, police sources said.
Ambattur police registered a case and tracked the accused based on the descriptions given by the woman. The accused, Kanikkai Raju (38) and his friend, Anandan (39) are residents of Tirumullaivoyal and are serial offenders. Police seized the auto rickshaw and the valuables from them.
Further investigations are on to ascertain if the duo were involved in any other waylaying incidents in the neighbourhood.
