An armed gang stole ₹1.53 lakh cash from a TASMAC shop, by brandishing machetes at the shop’s employees, in Kattangudi near Arrupukottai, on the night of Tuesday, July 11, 2023. No one was injured during the incident.
Aruppukottai Taluk Police said that the TASMAC shop, located one km off the Madurai-Thoothukudi highway, was deserted at closing time. A gang of five, all masked, came in on two motorbikes at around 9.40 p.m. While the night watchman was sitting outside, the shop supervisor, R. Murugan (53) and two salesmen were inside the shop.
One of the gang members placed a machete at the neck of the watchman while three others barged into the shop. They hit the furniture with machetes and threatened the employees, demanding that the day’s collection of cash be handed over to them. Fearing for their lives, the employees offered no resistance and handed over ₹1.53 lakh to the robbers. Within a few seconds of receiving the cash, the gang fled the scene and disappeared into the darkness.
As the closed circuit television camera outside the shop was not working, the police are now trying to identify the accused through CCTV footage from inside the shop. A case has been filed, and an investigation is under way.
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