On December 27, 2024, a man riding a scooter in Kalady was attacked with pepper spray and robbed off Rs 20 lakh at knife point by two motorcycle-borne individuals. The whole operation was carried out after extensive planning and surveillance which stretched over three months.
Yet, despite all their preparedness, the robbers were nabbed, along with eight others who assisted them in only two weeks. What helped the police, you ask? A can discarded on the roadside.
The incident
On the day, Davis, who works as a manager of a grocery wholesale firm, was travelling on his scooter to hand over the money to the business’ owner when he was intercepted by two motorcycle-borne individuals.
Davis had with him two bags containing a total of Rs 32 lakh. The strangers first used pepper spray on his face and reached for the bag. When Davis resisted, they brandished a knife and stabbed him before grabbing the bags. However, in their haste to flee, one of the bags fell down and was promptly recovered by another company employee following Davis, and the police were informed.
“As soon as we learned about the incident, we rushed to the spot. On arriving there and examining the crime scene, it was evident that it was a well-planned robbery, likely done with the assistance of an insider. However, the most crucial evidence recovered from the place was the pepper spray can,” says an officer who was part of the investigation.
The probe
Soon, Ernakulam Rural Police Chief Vaibhav Saxena formed a team with Perumbavoor Assistant Commissioner of Police Shakti Singh and Kalady SHO Anilkumar Meppilly. “We formed teams. One tracked the pepper spray can. Another collected information from people who worked at the company. We also checked CCTV footage in the area,” the officer reveals.
The latter exercise proved to be fruitless as the route did not have many cameras and so, the motorcycles used by the assailants could not be found. “However, the team tracking the pepper spray received vital information during the initial probe. The can had a helpline number on it which, when contacted, helped us find that the pepper spray was only sold online and from one particular shopping platform. After checking with the can’s manufacturer and some assistance from the shopping platform, we tracked the buyer — a person in Irinjalakuda. He had procured the pepper spray a few weeks before the incident,” the officer says.
Meanwhile, the team probing the possible involvement of an insider found that Anil Kumar T G, who had worked as the company’s driver, had a criminal history and was lodged in Irinjalakuda jail in a criminal case. “Even though he returned to work after being released from jail, he resigned a few months later. So we also started tracking Anil,” the officer says.
The pepper spray can was tracked to the residence of Anees in Irinjalakuda.
“It was a combo pack containing two cans. We carried out a surprise raid at the residence and recovered the pairing can and the box in which it was delivered. But his family members tipped him off and Anees went absconding,” the officer explains.
Connecting the dots
However, the police did not have to wait long for success. The former employee Anil, during interrogation, divulged the entire robbery planning.
“Anil met Anees at Irinjalakuda sub-jail. There, he told Anees about the movement of cash at his workplace. He passed the entire information about the time, place and people involved. After being released from jail, Anees regularly reached Kalady and monitored Davis’ movement. He was joined by Vishnu Prasad alias Bomb Vishnu in executing the plan,” the officer reveals.
After Anil, police nabbed Firoz who arranged the motorcycle to carry out the robbery. Police also arrested Abhishek, Naveen and Salman who helped Anees to go into hiding. Anees’ father Ansari was arrested for tipping him off about police action.
After a few days, the police tracked Anees to a resort in Wayanad and nabbed him. Vishnu, on his return journey from a holiday in Mysuru and Goa, was nabbed from Palani. During interrogation, the duo confessed.
Apparently, they had divided the cash and parted ways. Anees also handed over a portion of the money he received to a woman named Shemu in Kodungallur. The money was recovered from her.
“The robbery was similar to the movie Sapthamashree Thaskaraha, starring Prithviraj, in which a group of persons who meet in jail joined together to carry out theft. However, police have cracked all such meticulously planned robberies in real life,” the officer concludes.