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Husband, bro-in-law come to woman’s rescue; complainant says he had entered their house earlier tooAnitha (name changed) had been half asleep when she heard her husband come into the room. She called out to him, but before she could say anything, felt herself getting strangled. She opened her eyes to find a stranger. This was no nightmare, but a theft gone wrong at her Chamarajpet home. And it was only about 10.45 pm.On Sunday, October 28, Anitha’s husband G Bharath Kumar, a software professional, was downstairs chatting with his mother after dinner. His wife and son had gone upstairs to sleep, tired after attending a birthday party. Bharath rushed up the stairs hearing his wife screaming “kalla bandidane” (there’s a thief in the house). Anitha had overpowered the thief and freed herself.The man tried to escape down the stairs, but Bharath and his brother managed to catch him. By this time, the neighbours had rushed over to see what was going on.“On checking whether he had stolen anything from our house, we found my wife’s mobile phone in his pocket. It got stolen on September 30. We were shocked to realise he had been into the house before and had returned after a month to steal more valuables,” said Kumar.The thief seems to be active on Sundays, added Kumar. “Last Sunday, my wife came back home to find the bolt of theunlatched. This Sunday, we went out for a birthday party and this man had entered our room. When she had turned the lights on, the miscreant hid himself and started moving only after she fell asleep. She thought I was in the room and called me by name, but the very next movement she was being strangulated by this man by standing behind. Luckily, she overpowered him and raised an alarm,” Kumar said.The residents, many of whom identified the man as a local who had molested some neighbourhood women in the past, thrashed him soundly and called the police. Chamarajpet police rushed to the spot and detained the man (in pic). The cops found out that his name is Manikantan. The 31-year-old works in Chamarajpet as a cleaner for a lorry. Manikantan is originally from Cheriyan Nagar in Chennai. Manikantan was arrested by Chamarajpet police and booked for attempt to murder and theft.An investigating officer from Chamarjpet police station said, “Soon after being alerted, we detained Manikantan. Many women who gathered in the area complained that he had molested them. He has also stolen valuables from other houses in Chamarajpet surrounding. According to his parents, he is a habitual offender and was involved in similar incidents in Chennai. He may become more violent and so, we have booked him for attempt to murder and sent him behind bars.”“When Kumar and his brother caught him, Manikantan tried to behave like a mentally unstable man and acted like he was in their house looking for food. But when they found the mobile in his pocket, they understood he is a criminal. Kumar’s wife had tried to file a complaint of mobile theft too. But they did not have the IMEI number of the phone and so, the case was not registered,” the officer added.