Sensational gold heist in Salem detected in 8 hrs

SALEM: The new Salem police commissioner T Senthilkumar on Sunday congratulated a four-member crack team who solved a sensational gold heist in the steel town involving 150 sovereigns of gold jewelry and arrested three persons in this connection, within eight hours of registration of the complaint.

The special police team comprising inspector Sivakumar, and SIs’ Kumar, Govindan and Boopathy, set up by the police commissioner, within eight hours of lodging of the FIR in the case, nabbed three miscreants from Kariyaperumal Karattai area in the town, Venkatesh (22), his brother Satheesh (32) and the third man, Viji (21).

The police team also recovered the 150 sovereigns gold jewels worth about Rs 40 lakh and seized the two-wheeler the trio had allegedly used in the heist.

The incident happened on Friday evening when one Palanisamy (39), working as an assistant in a jewellery shop in Tiruchy, had come down to Salem carrying 150 sovereigns of gold jewels to be given for sale to smaller shops in the steel town.

As Palanisamy came out of a shop near the old bus stand here, the three miscreants who were on a two-wheeler, in lightning speed snatched his bag containing the gold and fled. A shocked Palanisamy, who was pushed to the ground, complained to the Salem town crime branch police. Following this, the commissioner set up a special team who solved the robbery case within record eight hours.