CHENNAI: Two days after an elderly couple was robbed in their house in Villivakkam, the police arrested three persons, including a relative of the couple, and recovered 20.5 sovereigns of gold jewellery, 24 grams of silver articles, Rs 5,000 in cash and two motorcycles on Sunday. The police are on the lookout for six other accused persons.
According to the Villivakkam police, those apprehended were identified as Mohammad Bakruddin (42), Radha (47), and Ramar (45). Inquiries revealed that Ramar is the nephew of Cholan, while Mohammad works as a tailor, Radha is a staff at his shop. The police said that Mohammad owns a piece of land that he wanted to sell. Ramar acted as an intermediary and told Mohammad that his uncle, Cholan, would be willing to buy it.
A meeting was fixed and Mohammad and Ramar met Cholan over a period of months. It is then that Mohammad and Ramar hatched a plan to rob him, while Radha joined them. On Thursday night, the couple, Cholan (74) and his wife Vanaja (64) went to sleep. Around 3 am, a knock at the door woke up Vanaja, who answered it and a group of five men with masks entered the house and held a knife to her throat, the police said.
The gang threatened the couple to hand over money and gold. While two of them held the couple at knifepoint, others ransacked the house. They decamped with `2.5 lakh cash and 70 sovereigns of gold. The gang also snatched the gold chain and ring from Vanaja, leaving her injured, before fleeing the spot.
The police arrested Ramar, Mohammad, and Radha from Chennai, and said that neither participated in the robbery. Further investigation is on.