Chased by cops, thief abandons Rs 1.56 cr stolen from bizman

Around 2.30 am on Monday, a patrol team from Kotturpuram station noticed a speeding bike on Lock Street in Erikarai. When they tried to stop it, the rider dodged them and sped away from the spot, which led to a hot pursuit. As he was riding at a high speed, the biker lost balance after running over a speed breaker, and three bags that were kept on top of the fuel tank fell off. Realising that he would not be able to take the bag without risking capture, the man abandoned them and escaped from there.

The patrol team found the bags contained Rs 1,56,61,560 and immediately alerted senior officers.

Meanwhile, personnel at Saidapet station received a complaint that Rs 1.56 crore was stolen from the residence of M Balasubramaniam, a property businessman, at Nandanam extension. Police said his daughter would stay in the first floor of the house whenever he goes out of town. It was the maid who found on Monday morning that a window on the ground floor was broken, and the daughter found the cash was stolen. With the help of CCTV footage, police found that the biker had come from the street where the house is located.

Investigations revealed that Balasubramaniam had sold a property for Rs 5 crore, of which he received Rs 3 crore through online transaction and the rest as cash. The family submitted documents to substantiate this.

“The thief had not taken the gold and Rs 17 lakh kept in the same room,” police said, adding that it was not clear as yet how an outsider came to know that the money was kept in that particular room. “We are probing all angles including the possibility of involvement of his staff in the crime,” police said.