Gang disguised as cops robs Rs 76 lakh of Kerala jeweller, nabbed

KANYAKUMARI: The

Kanyakumari

police arrested five men from Kerala who, in the guise of policemen, robbed Rs 76.4 lakh of a jewellery near

Thuckalay

on Tuesday.

The accused, including the driver of the jewellery store, were secured from a hideout in Thiruvananthapuram.

At 8.15am on Tuesday, a car bearing registration number KL 01 CF 5781 belonging to Kerala Fashion Jewellery with Gopakumar, 37, of Mavarthala Veedu in Thiruvananthapuram at the wheel and two staff members carrying Rs 76.4 lakh cash in a bag was travelling at Karavilai that comes under the jurisdiction of Thuckalay police. A

gang

of four with two of them disguised as policemen waylaid them.

The accused directly headed to the rear seats, took the bag with money and fled the scene. “Four special teams were formed based on a complaint lodged by the staff and 23 people were engaged in monitoring CCTV footage to track them,” superintendent of police (SP) of Kanyakumari district V Badri Narayanan told TOI.

The vehicle was tracked all the way to the Kaliyakkavilai check post bordering Kerala that is 30 km from the scene of crime. The police realised that the registration number of the MUV used by them (KL 01 BV 3142) is fake. The team managed to pick them from a hide out in Thiruvananthapuram and brought them to Thuckalay late in the night on Tuesday.

Inquiries revealed that Gopakumar, who joined the firm three months ago, had planned the robbery along with the four others. The accused have been identified as Sajin Kumar, 37, of Kuttiyanikadu, Rajeshkumar, 40, of Perumkadavila, Suresh Kumar, 34, of Paliyodu, Kannan, 29, of Mavarthala Veedu and Gopakumar all from Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala.

They were booked under sections 170 (personating a public servant) and 392 (punishment for robbery) of the Indian Penal Code and remanded in judicial custody.

Badri Narayanan said the income tax department in Tirunelveli had been informed about the money involved to trace its source.