THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Mercedes-Benz car, which was robbed by a gang from a house at Pallimukku in Thiruvananthapuram, was found abandoned in Kochi city on Monday morning.
North Circle Inspector D.S. Suneesh Babu said that the car was found
parked on the main road near the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor. He said that the police got the information after a nearby resident alerted the police that a Benz car with registration ‘KL-01 Z 3576’ was found parked on the side of the road right from the early morning.
“The gang has fled after locking the car. We sought the support of the technicians from the Benz dealer in Kochi to open the car and shift it to the Palarivattom police station. We will hand over the vehicle to the case investigation team from Thiruvananthapuram,’’ the official said, and added that the resident noticed the car after reading the news of the theft in a newspaper.
Suneesh Babu said that a team of fingerprint experts would collect evidence from the car.
Police suspect that the gang might have abandoned the car fearing that the police would trace them if they continued using the vehicle.
“We suspect that the gang members might have escaped from the city through any public transport system. We have also decided to conduct checking at lodges and hotels to trace the gang members,’’ the sources added.
The car was stolen from a house in Thiruvananthapuram after the gang held the wife of a businessman hostage in the wee hours of Sunday.
The gang also stole cash amounting to Rs 20,000 and gold weighing nine sovereigns from the house after tying the woman, who was alone in the house, to the cot in the bedroom.
According to police, the woman had stated that the robbers, eight of them clad in black T-shirts and shorts and wearing masks, entered the house after removing the iron bars of a window in the living room. They spoke Hindi and English.
kochi@expressbuzz.com