Rs. 50 lakh ‘robbery’ case cracked

Sawmill employee, car driver arrested for faking the robbery

Loot:Inspector General of Police, Central Zone, M. Ramasubramani, taking a look at the Rs. 50 lakh cash seized by the special teams in Tiruchi on Thursday. — Photo: A. Muralitharan

A sawmill employee and a car driver who stage-managed a robbery in an attempt to steal about Rs.50 lakh were arrested by the police.

The police called their bluff after sustained interrogation, hours after the duo claimed that two motorcycle-borne persons had robbed them of the cash while transporting it in a car.

The claim was busted in four hours by the special teams which arrested the driver, Siva alias Sivasubramanian, and David, sawmill employee, who enacted a drama to grab the money.

The cash was seized by the teams that also arrested Karuppaiah – a relative of the driver – for having assisted the duo.

David and Siva were sent by Vijesh Patel, owner of the sawmill, in a car on Wednesday to collect Rs. 50 lakh from his relative at Thennur.

Soon after collecting the cash, David had called up Vijesh to say that two motorcycle-borne culprits had intercepted the car and robbed the money after spraying chilli powder on his face near Tiruverumbur.

Four special teams were constituted to conduct inquiry into the robbery claim. The teams grew suspicious after the duo gave conflicting statements during inquiry.

Footage from the Closed Circuit Television cameras on the Tiruchi-Thanjavur national highway were verified to check whether the car was indeed tailed by motorcycle-borne culprits as claimed.

After sustained inquiry, the two confessed to have enacted the drama with the intention of looting the money, Inspector General of Police, Central Zone, M.Ramasubramani, told reporters on Thursday.

The duo had asked Karuppaiah to come en-route with chilli powder and handed over the cash to him.

They drove the car for some distance from the spot and applied chilli powder on their shirts to enact the robbery drama, the IG said.

The cash which was hidden in a bush near the Malaikoil was seized by the teams which also arrested Karuppaiah.

The IG appreciated the teams and gave away cash awards to them. The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Tiruchi Range, N.K.Senthamaraikannan, and Superintendent of Police S.Rajeswari were present.