Chennai, March 26 : A chain snatcher, arrested a day earlier, was shot dead in a police encounter near the Taramani railway station area in Chennai early on Wednesday morning while trying to escape.

This marks the fourth encounter-related death in the city since A. Arun assumed charge as the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner in July 2024, following the murder of Tamil Nadu BSP State President K. Armstrong.

According to police sources, 28-year-old chain Jaffer Gulam Hussain, a native of Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Tuesday along with his accomplice Suraj at Chennai Airport while attempting to board a flight to New Delhi.

The duo had allegedly been involved in multiple chain-snatching incidents across the city.

The encounter took place when police took Jaffer to the Taramani area to recover stolen jewellery. During the operation, he reportedly attacked Inspector Buhari and tried to flee. In response, police opened fire, killing him on the spot.

Police said Jaffer had been wanted by Maharashtra authorities since 2020 and had been involved in nearly 50 chain-snatching cases.

Along with Suraj, he had targeted morning walkers and pedestrians along East Coast Road (ECR), Adyar, and Besant Nagar in Chennai, stealing gold jewellery worth approximately Rs 10 lakh, amounting to 16 sovereigns.

This incident adds to a series of police encounters that have occurred since the killing of BSP leader K. Armstrong on July 5, 2024. The key accused in Armstrong's murder, Thiruvengadam, was shot dead when police took him to Madhavaram Lake to gather evidence. According to officials, he attempted to attack the officers after his handcuffs were removed, forcing them to retaliate.

Subsequently, Kakkathope Balaji, a known history-sheeter with over 60 cases against him, was shot dead by a police team in Vyasarpadi.

In another high-profile case, Chennai Police gunned down 'Seizing' Raja, an underworld don who had been arrested in Andhra Pradesh and brought back to the city. He, too, allegedly tried to assault officers during an evidence-gathering operation.

These successive 'encounter killings have drawn the attention of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), which has summoned Commissioner A. Arun for an explanation. The Commissioner had previously stated during a media briefing on July 7 last year that the police would 'deal with rowdies in the language they understand'.

/IANS