By news@flagshipupdate.online 
Three men who targeted elderly women and morning walkers were traced using 300 CCTVs; they were trying to leave the state when they were caught
A spate of chain-snatching incidents in Chennai, executed within an hour on Tuesday morning, culminated in the fatal police shooting of one of the suspects near Taramani railway station early Wednesday.
Police said the men, part of a notorious gang, targeted elderly women and morning walkers in neighbourhoods along East Coast Road, Adyar and Besant Nagar. Two suspects, Jaffer Gulam Hussain, 28, and Suraj alias Marsingh Amjat, both from Uttar Pradesh, were intercepted at Chennai International Airport as they attempted to board a flight to New Delhi, police said.
A third accomplice, who had fled with some of the stolen jewellery, was arrested aboard the Vijayawada-bound Pinakini Express at Nellore railway station in Andhra Pradesh.
Investigators pieced together the sequence of events using footage from more than 300 CCTV cameras across the city. In the early hours of Tuesday, the suspects, riding a motorcycle, snatched gold chains from at least eight victims, making off with 16 sovereigns of jewellery worth approximately Rs 10 lakh.
After receiving multiple complaints, special teams from the Greater Chennai Police launched a coordinated search. Surveillance footage showed the suspects heading toward Chennai Airport. Officers tracked their vehicle in a nearby parking lot and monitored all departing passengers between 8 am and noon. Based on their attire, Jaffer and Suraj were identified and apprehended while queuing for boarding passes.
Police said that during questioning, the men initially feigned innocence, claiming that they were travelling to meet their families. But during the interrogation, they confessed and revealed that a third suspect had boarded a train with the stolen valuables. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel at Nellore were informed, and they intercepted the suspect and recovered eight sovereigns of gold from the train. The remaining stolen items, police said, were yet to be traced.
Hours after their arrest, police took Hussain to a secluded spot near the Taramani railway station, where they claimed he and his associates had stashed the stolen jewellery.
Police claimed that he attacked an inspector and attempted to escape, prompting officers to open fire. He was shot and killed on the spot. Police said Hussain had been wanted by the Maharashtra police since 2020 for his involvement in at least 50 chain-snatching cases across multiple states.