Fake sleuths who robbed 2 Keralites of Rs 13 lakh held

Six people were arrested today on the charge of looting Rs 13 lakh from two youths by posing as officials from the vigilance department five days ago, police said here.

The six-member gang in two cars had intercepted the vehicle of Abhineshand Naushad from Thalassery, Kerala, who had come here to purchase gold ornaments, and took away Rs 13 lakh from duo on 17 July, the police said. The victims were asked to collect the money after showing proper documents in the vigilance office.

Later, realising they had been cheated, the victims lodged a complaint with the police. Three special police teams were formed to catch the culprits. The teams went through CCTV footage and tracked their mobile phones before arresting them at Madukkarai, police said.

The arrested were Jaleel from Palakkad, the mastermind of the robbery, Ajit and Aravindam from Thrissur, Padmanabhan, Kamalesh and Natarajan from Coimbatore, they said. A sum of Rs 8.40 lakh and two cars valued at Rs 15 lakh have been recovered from their possession.

Hunt was on for six more people involved in the heist, they said.