Chennai: The state crime branch police probing the Rs 5.73 crore loot from the Salem-Chennai express train in August last year appears to be still groping for a breakthrough, barring an intelligent guess based on the modus operandi of the daring robbers that they could be tribals from Virudhachalam in Cuddalore district.
“The robbers had used axe to cut open the metal roof of the train coach to access the boxes of soiled notes being transported from Salem to be delivered to the RBI at Chennai,” a senior police officer privy to the investigation told DC.
“We have seen that gangs from the Kuruva tribes in Virudhachalam region had used axes to cut the iron door of the strong room in some banks in Kasargod and Thrissur in Kerala”, the senior officer told DC.
He said the gangs who struck the banks in Kerala fled to the safe hiding grounds in their original settlements in Karnataka and returned to Virudhachalam (or elsewhere in Tamil Nadu) after the heat cooled off and they could plan their next hit.
He admitted that the use of axe was just one of the several angles being probed “but there’s no solid evidence of any kind so far”. No suspect has been picked up so far. The director general of the RPF who was in Chennai last week, had discussions with his officers about the slow pace of the case, according to sources.
It may be recalled that on August 8 last year, the Salem-Chennai Egmore express train carrying Rs 342 crore in soiled notes from Salem to the RBI in Chennai was robbed during the journey by robbers cutting open the roof of the coach using axes and gaining entry.
They carried away Rs 5.73 crore in large bags they had brought. With the Railway police making no headway, the case was transferred to the state crime branch CID.
