Chennai gold heist | Inspector arrested for keeping looted jewellery at home

Amalraj, an inspector at Acharapakkam in Chengalpattu district, received it from his relative, who is one of the accused persons in Fedbank heist

A police inspector at Acharapakkam was arrested by the Chennai city police on the charge of receiving gold jewellery from an accused person, who is his relative and was involved in the gold heist at Fedbank Financial Services at Arumbakkam last Saturday, and of concealing it for three days.

Amalraj, an inspector at Acharapakkam in Chengalpattu district, and his wife were under the surveillance of a police team investigating the Arumbakkam case after their relative M. Santhosh, 30, was arrested for looting the bank.

On Sunday, the police arrested V. Balaji, 28, of Villivakkam and Santhosh near the Chennai Muffusil Bus Terminus. They were associates of the main accused M. Murugan. Santhosh confessed that he had stayed at the house of Amalraj at Melmaruvathur after committing the offence and left a part of the booty at his house for safe custody.

T.S. Anbu, Additional Commissioner of Police, North, said Santhosh had taken along a major portion of the looted jewellery. “In pursuance of our investigation, we have recovered six-and-a-half kg of jewellery from Amalraj’s house. According to his confession, the inspector knew that Santhosh was involved in the heist after he came to his home. But he was fully aware that the jewellery Santhosh gave him was at his house for three days. Based on our recommendation, he was placed under suspension. On Friday, we arrested him since it is an offence to conceal the loot,” Mr. Anbu said. The inspector was remanded in judicial custody.

All the looted jewellery (31.700 kg) had been recovered, the police said.

The police also arrested Srivatsan in Coimbatore, who helped to buy a machine to melt the jewellery. So far, seven persons have been arrested in the case.