5 held for stealing 550 kg of silver in Salem; 323 kg recovered

CHENNAI: The Salem city police on Friday arrested five persons for robbing 550 kg of silver bars and articles after attacking a security guard at Cinema Nagar in the early hours of October 12 (Monday).

The masked gang attacked the security guard with an iron rod, tied him up before breaking into the silver storage facility owned by M Balasubramaniam, a wholesale silver trader and manufacturer near Salem New Bus Stand.

The prime accused, S Abishek (21) of Coimbatore, and his four alleged accomplices, Sridhar, Gnanaprakasam, Arunkumar and Annamalai, were arrested on Friday. The police recovered 323 kg of silver anklets and bars from them. Two cars used in the robbery, along with masks, gloves, spray cans and iron rods, were also seized.

The police traced the gang by tracking the car, in which they travelled through several districts, including Coimbatore, Tiruchy, Madurai and Thanjavur. Salem Police Commissioner AG Babu said the accused had avoided toll plazas and travelled around 2,400 kms within 24 hours without stopping anywhere. “We analysed the CCTV footage in at least 1000 places in various districts to track down the accused persons,” he said.

The prime accused, Abishek, is facing several criminal cases, including a murder case in Coimbatore and a case under the Arms Act, the police said. Further investigation is under way by special teams to apprehend three more persons allegedly involved in the robbery and recover the remaining stolen silver.