Goldsmith forced into car, robbed of jewels worth Rs53L

CHENNAI: A goldsmith from Villupuram who had come to Chennai was forced into a car in Egmore and relieved of 2.5 kg gold worth Rs 53 lakh before being pushed out of the car near Tiruvanmiyur. The incident took place on Friday evening. 

Murugan (40), the goldsmith, reached Chennai by train around 3pm along with two of his employees, Shanmugam (35) and Vasanthan (28). They were to return the finished jewellery to SN Jewellery Shop and SAJ Jewellery Shop, both in Sowcarpet. After having lunch at a hotel on Kenneth Lane, the three hired an autorickshaw to Sowcarpet. 

While they were on Gandhi Irwin Salai in Egmore, another autorickshaw intercepted them and the two drivers entered into an altercation. While the argument was on, a Tata Indica car and a two-wheeler pulled alongside. One man wielding a lathi jumped out of the car and told Murugan that he had been waiting for him. With the help of the men in the intercepting autorickshaw and the two-wheeler, he forced the goldsmith into the car. The remaining men chased Vasanthan and Shanmugam away and sped away in their vehicles. 

As they neared Tiruvanmiyur, the occupants pushed Murugan out, having snatched the 2.5 kg of gold jewellery and also his two mobile phones. Finally, Murugan reached Egmore police station around 7pm and lodged a complaint. 

"Three special teams have been formed to nab the culprits. One team has gone to Villupuram, another team is tracking the call lists of Murugan, Vasanthan and Shanmugam, while the third team is inquiring with the jewellers in Sowcarpet," a senior police officer said.