CHENNAI: Two days after a veteran actress S Raja Shree (72) was robbed of Rs 30 lakh worth valuables from Panagal Park in broad daylight, the city police, with the help of CCTV footage, arrested a 30-year-old history-sheeter from Tiruchi on Thursday in this connection and have launched a search for his accomplices.
The police also recovered Rs 30 lakh worth Rolex watch and diamonds, 10 sovereigns of gold jewellery and a bracelet from the man. With the help of CCTV footage recorded at a showroom near Panagal Park in T Nagar, the police nabbed the man in Tiruchi.
The arrested was identified as Sarfuddin, a native of Ramji Nagar near Tiruchi.
Police said Raja Shree, a resident of West Mambalam, had gone with her son Srinivasan to a nationalised bank in Panagal Park on April 12. The mother and son had gone to the bank to take valuables from the locker to attend a relative’s wedding, when the incident was reported.
She told the police that after taking the jewels she was alone in the car waiting for her son to return when a middle-aged man approached her. “The man told the actress that some of her currency notes had fallen outside the car door. She stepped out of the car to take the money and walked a few feet, when the man took the bag of valuables placed in the back seat of the car,” said the police.
Meanwhile, an accomplice of the suspect was waiting on the bike. Soon after robbing the woman, the duo escaped from the scene. A complaint was registered at the Pondy Bazaar police station.
The police lifted CCTV footages from a showroom in the same area and traced one of the man as Sarfuddin. City police alerted the stations across the state and nabbed the man in Tiruchi who was brought to the city late on Thursday night.
Police said Sarfuddin already had theft complaints registered against him. Investigations are on.