Four days after a major robbery at Fed Bank-Gold Loans office in Arumbakkam, a gang of seven men barged in and allegedly looted ₹6.93 lakh from an unregistered lending firm in Vadapalani on Tuesday evening. The police arrested one of the suspects after he fell off a bike during a chase by the public. On Wednesday, another suspect was arrested.
On Tuesday afternoon, the gang, which arrived on motorcycles, barged into the office of Oceanic Capital, a finance firm, on Mannar Mudali Street, Vadapalani, which is run by D. Saravanan, 44, with nine others as partners. The firm started its business in MMDA Colony 10 years ago and opened another branch near Mr. Saravanan's residence in Vadapalani. They offer loans to shopkeepers and vendors for daily interest.
The police said after storming into the office, the gang bolted the door from inside and brandished knives at Naveen Kumar and Deepak, employees of the firm. The assailants hit the two employees and made them kneel down. The assailants forced the employees to take the money out of the locker and stuffed it in their bag. By the time Mr. Saravanan, who lives in the house in front of the office, could reach the spot, the gang fled with the booty.
Mr. Saravanan alerted the police control room. He and a few other staff members and the public chased the gang. One of the assailants fell from a bike and was injured. He was caught and handed over to the police. While Mr. Saravanan said ₹30 lakh had been taken away, the police put the figure at ₹6.93 lakh. The youth had been identified as Riyaz Bazha, 22, a second year college student in Alwarthirunagar. He and his associates, including Mottai, committed the crime, the investigation revealed.
The main accused, along with his five friends, planned the heist on the advice of Mottai who had borrowed money from the firm. On Wednesday, the police arrested Kishore, 23. Tamilselvan, a member of the gang, handed over the money and fled the city. The police recovered ₹1.75 lakh from Kishore and ₹3,000 from Riyaz.
Special teams are on the lookout for the remaining suspects, including Mottai, Ismail, Bharat, Johny, and Tamil.
