CHITTOOR: V Kota Police in Chittoor district cracked a highway robbery case within 48 hours, arresting four suspects and recovering 3.5 kg of gold biscuits valued at approximately Rs 3.2 crore. The robbery took place on the night of April 2 in V Kota mandal.
Acting on the directions of Superintendent of Police (SP) VN Manikanta Chandolu, four special teams were formed to investigate the case. On April 5, during vehicle checks near Raghavapalli village on the V Kota–Palamaner National Highway, V Kota Urban Police intercepted an Innova car and recovered the stolen gold from four suspects, all hailing from Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), Karnataka. The accused have been identified as D Jayapal (A1), councillor of the 4th ward of KGF and former KGF Urban Development Authority Chairman, M Mukram (A2), KR Babu (A3), and Shanmugam (A4). The vehicle used in the crime was also seized.
The SP said the victim, Chetan Kumar, was travelling from V Kota to Pernambut via Naikaneri Ghat when his vehicle was intercepted and robbed. A complaint was lodged by gold merchant Deepak Kumar. During interrogation, Jayapal revealed that Mukram passed information about the gold’s movement to Jameel, who alerted Jayapal. A 13-member gang from Pernambut planned the heist based on this intel.