CHENNAI: The Kancheepuram police on Friday arrested the main suspect of the robbery wherein a gang, posing as sleuths from idol wing CID, had intercepted a car on the highway and robbed Rs 11 crore worth jewellery and Rs 7.5 lakh.
The arrested S Vinoth, 33 of Mylapore, worked as a computer operator at the jewellery shop and chalked out the plan for the gang to execute the robbery, police said.
During the investigation it was revealed that Vinoth found out the email ID of Kiran Rao, the shop owner and asked his associates Selvakumar, Arun, Ranjith Kumar and Mani to create a fake email ID and send blackmailing email, demanding for money on the pretext of the old idol cases.
“Vinoth was also aware that the gold was being taken to Madurai. Following the information, the gang made a plan and on April 29, the seven men intercepted a car driven by Dayanidhi who was returning from a jewellery exhibition in Madurai, posing as Idol Wing officials. The men robbed Rs 11 crore worth jewellery and Rs 7.5 lakh in cash,” said the officer.
Kiran Rao lodged a complaint at the Chengalpattu Taluk police station. However, with the help of the CCTV footage, the police had traced a man on a motorbike, apparently one of the suspects in the robbery. A special team was formed to trace the suspects and the police nabbed one Abbas from Madurai, ten days ago and based on his confession, police arrested Ramachandran and Manikandan also.
Blackmail
During investigation, it was revealed that Vinoth found out the email ID of Kiran Rao and asked his associates to create a fake email ID and started blackmailing