The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Major breakthrough in LIC theft case

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 13, 2004

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Major breakthrough in LIC theft case

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPT. 12. In a major breakthrough, the city police have arrested one of the key suspects in the daring daylight heist of Rs.7.41 lakhs from the Life Insurance Corporation's (LIC) Branch II office at Ayurveda College Junction on July 1.

The accused, Prema Sivam (20), is a resident of Ramji Nagar Colony in Tiruchi district in Tamil Nadu. Nearly Rs.1 lakh of the stolen money has been recovered from him. The police said he was part of the 11-member gang from Ramji Nagar that carried out the operation under the leadership of one Saravanan (40) who is still at large.

The police said Saravanan apparently had detailed information about the daily cash transactions inside the LIC office.

According to the police reconstruction of the crime, the gang arrived at the Central Railway Station here on June 30. They spend the night inside the terminal. At around 10 a.m., the gang "tricked into" the LIC office. The gang members kept the LIC staff distracted by posing questions and creating a commotion at the queues, while one of them slipped un-noticed into the cash counter and decamped with the iron box containing the money.

The police said each gang member had a specific role assigned to him. Prema Sivam and Murali (30), who were posted outside the office, were asked to ensure that nobody prevented the person carting away the cash box. The cash box was taken in an auto rickshaw towards East Fort where it was later found empty and abandoned in a building. The gang regrouped at the railway station. Murali and two others went to Kozhikode, Prema Sivam to Tiruchi while Saravanan and others headed for Madhya Pradesh.

First lead

The investigating officer, M. Muhammad Iqbal (Circle Inspector-Pettah), got the first lead in the case when Murali was apprehended by the security staff of a private hospital in Kozhikode where he allegedly attempted a similar operation on July 2. On the basis of Murali's confession, the police headed by the Assistant Commissioner (Shangumugham), A. M. Salim, focussed their attention on Ramji Nagar. The team discovered that many among the 3,000-odd inhabitants of the colony figured as accused in theft cases in different parts of the country.

Mr. Iqbal procured the photographs and background of nearly 400 persons belonging to 20-odd gangs operating out of Ramji Nagar. They were shown to the LIC staff here who reportedly identified 11 of the suspects. Mr. Iqbal recruited informants inside the colony and asked them to warn the police about the presence of the wanted persons. On the basis of such an information, a 20-member police team led by the Circle Inspector (Poonthura), Suresh, arrested Prema Sivam from the colony on Sunday.

In August, the Madhya Pradesh police had arrested a member of Saravanan's gang in connection with the theft of Rs.17 lakhs from a bank in Ujjain. The modus operandi was similar to that of the LIC theft. The police said that Saravanan lived in a large air-conditioned house with guard dogs in Ramji Nagar. An official said the Ramji Nagar gangs always operated outside Tamil Nadu to ensure that they did not attract the attention of the local police. Three per cent of every one lakh rupee stolen by the gangs went to a committee that ensured legal aid and succour in the event a gang member was arrested.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala

News Update

Stories in this Section

New buildings to get heritage touch

Major breakthrough in LIC theft case

KU senate downgrades posts in law department

Role of theatre stressed

3 of a family among four killed in accident

Around the City

In Thiruvananthapuram Today

Readers' Mail