Placeholder canvas

Rs 5.78 crore stolen from consignment of Rs 342 crore on the way to Chennai

Date:

In a bold attempt, unidentified persons managed to enter into a coach of a moving train which was carrying soiled currency notes worth Rs 342 crore being transported from Salem, a western city in Tamil Nadu, to the state’s capital Chennai, and made off with Rs 5.78 crore.

According to the report, currency notes valued at Rs 5.78 crore. A special team has been formed under Railway police SP Vijayakumar and three DSPs will be assisting him in the investigations, informed the police.

A total of four boxes were found broken, with cash in one of the boxes entirely missing. Another box was half-empty and the third box had been opened, but cash in the box was just left scattered, not missing. This might have been because the cash in the last box was of smaller denomination.

The police stations from Salem to Chennai have been alerted and all police inspectors have been roped into the investigation. “The incident came to light when RBI officials opened the coach on its arrival (in Chennai) and found the currency notes lying scattered inside, says the report.

It is not clear at which spot the thieves managed to sneak out the cash boxes in the nearly 350-kilometre-long journey that the train took on Monday night.

According to police sources, the heist came to light only after the Salem Express reached Chennai around 3.55 am on Tuesday. A hole, large enough for a person to enter, was found on the top of the railway coach in which the currency was stored in 226 boxes.

The consignment was being transported with heavy security, including by a team headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police. It is unclear how the thieves could have drilled the hole on the roof of the coach, given that the electric cables would have been right above the coach.

Police suspect the burglars exploited a few stretches along the route which are not yet electrified.

According to railway sources, a High-capacity parcel van (VPH) has been leased out by the Railways for carrying the cash from Salem to Chennai Egmore station in train number 11064, Salem Chennai Egmore Express. The VPH parcel had been be sealed during transportation.

There was no RPF armed person inside the VPH, however. The theft is likely to have taken place between Salem and Vridhachalam as the 138-km section was non-electrified.

Sources added that the train reached Vridhachalam station at 11.50 pm and left the station at 12.15 am. At the station, the engine of the train was changed from a diesel locomotive to an electrical one, as the Vridhachalam-Chennai Egmore section is completely electrified.

The train is now stationed in a yard near Egmore railway station in Chennai. A railway police source said since the cash boxes was being transported in the cargo section, it would fall under the jurisdiction of the Railway Protection Force, which will investigate the case.

Police are trying to verify if the train was halted anywhere else during its journey or if the thieves had managed to enter the coach before the train began its journey.

Also Read: #PoolGate: Pool mysteriously turns green, officials dumbfounded

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related

From Deepfake Concerns To India’s AI Mission PM Modi Interacts With Bill Gates

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged in a...

NewsMobile Morning Brief

Actor Govinda Joins Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena Ahead Of...

Gangster-Turned-Politician Mukhtar Ansari Dies Of Cardiac Arrest

Banda: Gangster turned politician Mukhtar Ansari passed away at...

IPL 2024: Rajasthan Royals Defeat Delhi Capitals By 12 Runs

Jaipur: Rajasthan Royals clinched a 12-run win over Delhi...