Ananthapur: Many villagers voluntarily come out on to the streets to caught a thief, who stolen Rs. 16,00,000/- from a government official in Yellanuru mandal in the district on Friday. The Panchayat secretary Naga Lakshmamma had drawn the amount from the bank to disburse the old age pensions in the Yellanuru. While she was travelling an auto from Kondapur to Yellanuru, the auto driver Kollayappa and his two aides threatened her with a knife and snatched the cash bag and flew away.            

The Grama Panchayat Secretary Naga Lakshmamma immediately rushed to the police station and informed the incident. The DSP Srinivasulu alerted people in the nearby villages to look for the robbers and blocked the roads leading outside the area to trap the thieves. About 1,000 people started spreading out to the surrounding areas to search for the thief’s. At last the villagers of Chilamkur caught Kollayappa along with the cash and handed him over to police said DSP.