CHENNAI: A pawnbroker in Perambur allegedly escaped with at least 90 sovereigns pledged by nine residents in the locality. The missing pawnbroker, Govind Ram (38), a resident of Somasundaram Street in Agaram near Perambur, has been running his pawnshop on Thanthoni Amman Koil Street near his home for the past ten years.

Among others, Kanimozhi (45), Shobana (32), Shahana (40), Dilli Babu (50), and Gajalakshmi (38), of Ram Nagar in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, had gone to reclaim their pledged goods at the shop when they found it shut with a ‘to-let’ board. The residents then checked with the nearby shops and confirmed that the pawnbroker had vacated the shop.