Tamil Nadu - Salem   

Five-member gang held for robbery in trains

Special Correspondent

Gold jewellery, valuables recovered

SALEM: Salem Railway Police on Thursday arrested a five-member gang for robbery in trains, particularly those running on the Bangalore-Dharmapuri sector.

Gold jewellery and other valuables valued at Rs. 1.25 lakhs were recovered from them.

On the night of May 2, a group of youths looted gold jewellery from Geetha Parthasarathy of Chennai travelling in S-2 compartment and from Mahalakshmi of Bangalore, in S-9 coach of Mysore-Tuticorin Express when it crossed a village near Hosur.

After the robbery, they pulled the alarm chain and jumped out. Similar incidents were reported on earlier occasions also.

Perturbed over robberies in trains, the DIG of Railway Police, C.K. Gandhirajan, on instructions from the IG, T. Radhakrishnan, formed three special squads comprising officers drawn from police divisions of Salem, Jolarpet and Katpadi. After a two-month search, the Salem team led by Inspector K. Rajavel arrested the youths in Dharmapuri on Thursday.

Involved in other cases

The Inspector told The Hindu that there was prima facie evidence to confirm their involvement in other cases of train robbery. He said the gang members first selected deserted areas with thick vegetation. They would then book tickets and board the train in Bangalore. When it neared their selected spot, they would fan out to other compartments through the vestibule, mainly targeting women sleeping.

Lavish lifestyle

These youths used to sell the looted jewellery and lead a lavish lifestyle. All of them were ganja smokers and alcoholics and once were juvenile delinquents.

"We flew over Bangalore city in a helicopter paying Rs. 500," said Sudhakar (20), the brain behind the robbery. The other accused are Masthan, Vasu and Kannan (all from Vaniyampadi) and Chinnakutti (Pernampet, Vellore).

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

Tamil Nadu

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

Five-member gang held for robbery in trains
Issue of family cards from July 2
Stray dogs given anti-rabies vaccine

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu