A 20-year-old college student was stabbed to death at Sulur in Coimbatore district by three unidentified persons, who attempted to snatch his mobile phone on Saturday. The incident took place at 11.50 pm on Saturday at the Saravanampatti road.
According to police, Tamil Selvan, a third-year mechanical engineering student of GRG College, was returning home after completing his college project when three persons riding on two motorcycles came up from behind and attempted to snatch his mobile phone. However, when he refused to give up his phone and started shouting, the accused stabbed him with a knife on his chest. The three accused then absconded. Stabbed on the left side of his chest, a bleeding Tamil Selvan managed to return home. His father Dhanushkodi then rushed to a nearby hospital in Sulur. However, the youth succumbed to his injuries.
Police investigations reveal that ten minutes after Tamil Selvan was stabbed, the three accused had committed another robbery about half a kilometre from the scene of the murder. Mahalingam, a 25-year-old man was riding his two-wheeler when the three accused approached him on the pretext of finding an address. One of the accused tried to grab his mobile phone from his shirt pocket, but when Mahalingam resisted, he was stabbed on his back. The three accused then stole his two-wheeler and his mobile phone and sped away.
When the 25-year-old shouted for help, the driver of a car that was passing by gave chase to three men on the bikes. The accused were forced to abandon the bike and managed to escape. Mahalingam was taken to a hospital closeby where he was treated for his injuries.
The Coimbatore police are investigating both crimes.
In November 2019, three youths were arrested in Coimbatore for mobile phone theft. Similar to Saturday’s crime, the accused were riding a two-wheeler, and stole a mobile phone from S Daniel while he was on the phone. Following the crime, which took place on Karumathampatti-Annur road, the three accused sped off on the motorcycle.
The day after the phone snatching, the three accused broke into the home of an elderly woman and stole her gold chain weighing 2.5 sovereigns. The three were arrested after two special teams were formed following the back-to-back crimes, reported Times of India.