Chain-snatcher's ride goes off-road after 61-year-old woman's counterattack in TVM

Thiruvananthapuram: “I still can’t quite believe I pulled it off…” Behind these words of 61-year-old Prasannakumari lies the extraordinary grit of an otherwise quiet homemaker.

Prasannakumari, a resident of Kuzhippazhinji Veedu in Melekonam, Parasuvakkal, has become an overnight celebrity in her neighbourhood after single-handedly thwarting a robbery by pushing a chain-snatcher, and his getaway scooter, headlong into a roadside paddy field.

The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon along a quiet bylane near the goat farm at Adumankadu, Parasuvakkal.

Prasannakumari was walking home when the suspect, Vijayadas, pulled up on a scooter and yanked at her three-sovereign gold necklace. A fierce tug-of-war ensued; the chain snapped, leaving a small broken piece in her hand while the thief clutched the rest.

As he jumped back on his scooter to speed away, Prasannakumari charged at him, grabbed hold of him, and shoved both him and the vehicle right over the edge into the adjacent field. Spooked, the thief abandoned his overturned scooter and tried to bolt on foot, but by then, hearing her cries for help, local residents had rushed to the spot.

Finding his escape cut off, the suspect tried to hand back a piece of the broken chain. But Prasannakumari stood her ground: “I need the whole thing back, especially the thali. With the crowd closing in around him, the thief was forced to surrender the rest of the chain.

Officers from the Parassala police station soon arrived at the scene and took him into custody. The accused was identified as Vijayadas (40), a native of Arayoor. He has been remanded in judicial custody, and Prasannakumari will be able to formally retrieve her gold necklace once the court proceedings conclude.