New Delhi (Sputnik): Putting up a brave show while displaying a strong presence of mind, an elderly couple in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu forced two machete-wielding robbers at their home to flee in order to save their own lives in an incident which has gone viral on social media.

In the dramatic CCTV footage of the house, a masked robber tries to strangulate 70-year-old Shanmugavel, sitting in his veranda. While the shocked man struggles to free himself from the grip of one of the robbers, another machete-wielding balaclava-wearing thug also shows up.

Hearing the commotion, Senthamarai, the 65-year-old wife of Shanmugavel, comes out to the veranda. Stunned to see her husband under attack, she charges the attackers by throwing anything and everything she can lay her hands on to save her husband’s life.

With just plastic chairs and other household items, the couple forced the robbers to run for their lives.

— Shilpa Nair (@NairShilpa1308) August 12, 2019

— Shilpa Nair (@NairShilpa1308) August 12, 2019

​The viral video of the incident, which took place in the late hours of Sunday, has been hailed by social media users for the bravery of the elderly couple.

As per the latest statistics by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), a total of 20,532 cases of crimes against senior citizens were recorded in 2015, compared to 18,714 in 2014 in the national capital of India. The Indian state of Tamil Nadu stands in third place when it comes to crime against senior citizens (above 60 years), after Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.