The Crime Branch CID of the Tamil Nadu police on Wednesday night took over investigation of the daring train heist in which unidentified persons looted Rs. 5.75 crore from a huge consignment of soiled currency transported in a parcel van attached to the Salem-Chennai Express.
“Considering the serious nature of the case and the scope of investigation extending beyond railway premises, the Tamil Nadu Director-General of Police Ashok Kumar has issued orders transferring the case to the CB-CID. The decision was taken in consultation with the Railway Protection Force,” a senior police official told The Hindu .
No significant clues have emerged in the case even as several teams of the RPF launched searches at several locations across the State.
CCTV footage scanned
Investigators perused CCTV footage recorded in Salem and Egmore railway stations besides making extensive inquiries at all the 12 stations where the train had scheduled stoppages, railway sources said.
As much as Rs. 342.75 crore of soiled currency (Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 denominations) from three nationalised banks were stuffed in 226 wooden boxes and loaded in a parcel van of the train on Monday night.
When it reached Egmore the next morning, RBI officials who opened the seal found a hole on the roof and Rs. 5.75 crore missing.
While booking the consignment at Salem railway station, the bank officials only mentioned that 23 tonnes of soiled currency were being transported to Chennai. Neither the actual value of the money was declared nor the Southern Railway officials alerted to the transportation of such huge cash. It was only after the theft came to light that top railway officials knew of the cash movement, the sources said.
Besides forensic evidence such as finger prints and DNA samples, investigators are pinning their hopes on technical input.
Analysis of phone calls “A careful analysis of mobile phone calls along the route of the train and footage recorded by surveillance cameras on all roads leading to the railway stations could provide vital clues on the identity of the suspects,” an investigator said.
