Chennai car waylaid for Rs 40 lakh gold

Chennai: In a daring robbery, a four-member gang in a vehicle intercepted a car belonging to a jewellery shop and hijacked the car after dragging the driver out on Tuesday night on Taylors Road, Kilpauk. The car was carrying 1.5 kg gold worth over '40 lakh and 5 kg silver.

The gold and silver belonged to G.Praveen who runs JJ Gold House in Sowcarpet. He is a resident of Aminjikarai. His driver V. Venkatraman (43) was driving a Tata Sumo (TN 06 E 8177) at around 11.30 pm when the hijacking and robbery took place. The driver was alone in the car during the heist.

According to the police, the gang came in a Tata Indica, which forcefully stopped in front of the Sumo near Chinmaya Vidyalaya.

A shocked Venkatraman stopped his vehicle while the occupants of the other car surrounded his car and started knocking on his window. They asked him to open the door, and as soon as he downed the driver seat window, one man took away the car key.

The gang then assaulted him and dragged him out. Two of the gang members got into the Sumo and sped away while other members got into the Indica and drove away from the scene. Everything happened in less than two minutes, police said.

According to the police, Praveen, after finishing his day's business, would take the jewellery home. He would normally put all his gold and silver articles in the car and would ask the driver to take it to his house in Aminjkarai while he himself would travel home on a bike. Police said that the driver has been employed with the jewellery shop for the last 10 years.