Hitchhiker steals gold chain in Trichy

Trichy: Trichy Fort police on Monday arrested a 45-year-old man from Ariyalur district on charges of stealing a six-sovereign gold chain from the pocket of a two-wheeler rider who gave him a ride. Police said R Ayyappan, 35, a loadman in Gandhi Market, was riding his two-wheeler to work from Chathiram bus stand to Singarathope on Monday morning. The accused, V Veeramani, of Udayarpalayam, requested Ayyappan to drop him off at the Fort railway station, under the pretext of catching a train. During the ride, Veeramani learned that Ayyappan was carrying a gold chain in his shirt pocket. He suddenly asked Ayyappan to drop him off back at Singarathope, claiming that he had missed his train. Ayyappan dropped him off and after travelling for some distance, he realised that the chain was missing. Immediately, Ayyappan filed a complaint to police, who registered a case. They identified Veeramani using CCTV footage and arrested him. The stolen gold chain was retrieved from him.