Stranger snatches gold chain as techie offers lift in Tirupati

Tirupati: A software engineer was robbed on the outskirts of Tirupati after a man he offered a lift snatched his gold chain and fled. The incident occurred on the Cherlopalli–Zoo Park Road within the Tirupati rural police limits.The victim, identified as Raghunatha Reddy of Peruru village, was riding his motorcycle when an unidentified man signalled for a lift. Out of goodwill, Reddy stopped and allowed the stranger to hop on.Midway, the suspect asked Reddy to halt on the pretext of attending nature's call. As soon as the bike stopped, the thief lunged forward, snatched an 18-gram gold chain from Reddy's neck, and bolted towards Rickshaw Colony. Reddy chased him briefly, but the suspect disappeared into narrow lanes.Following the incident, Reddy approached the police and lodged a formal complaint on Wednesday evening. Police registered a case and analysed available CCTV footage to identify the suspect..Police appealed to the public to be extremely cautious when offering rides to strangers, especially in secluded stretches like the Zoo Park Road.