CHENNAI: Colourful sneakers and track pants played a crucial role in identifying the suspects and solving the daring serial robbery case reported on Tuesday, said the police commissioner A Arun on Wednesday.
Addressing the media, the officer said, “As soon as the first robbery incident was reported around 6.10 am on Tuesday, I informed the police to keep monitoring the suspects and step up the security in all the places, especially at the Chennai airport, metro train parking, metro railway stations, Chennai Central railway station, as we knew that the gang from other states operated in a similar fashion in Tambaram commissionerate last month.”
The two suspects – Jaffer Gulam Hussain Irani and Meesan Amjith Irani – came to Chennai by air around 2 am and 4.15 am on Tuesday. The duo met their accomplice Salman Hussain, who was waiting for them outside the airport with a Karnataka registration bike.
The duo started striking at women walking alone on the roads and streets in Saidapet, Thiruvanmiyur, Besant Nagar, Adyar, and Guindy.
The victims included Indira, 54, of Injambakkam, who lost two sovereigns of a gold chain; Lakshmi, 65, of Indira Nagar in Adyar, who lost eight sovereigns of a gold chain; Ambujammal, 66, of Besant Nagar, who lost three sovereigns of a gold chain; Nirmala, 60, of Guindy Race Course in Guindy, who lost 9.5 sovereigns of a gold chain; Vijaya, 72, of Medavakkam, who lost two sovereigns of a gold chain; and another woman, Murugammal, 55, who lost three sovereigns of a gold chain.
The city was put on red alert, and four special teams were formed by the South Chennai additional commissioner N Kannan.
The teams were assigned specific tasks: one team to monitor the CCTV cameras, another to check for the suspects at Chennai Central railway station, a third to monitor the suspects at Chennai Airport, and a fourth to track the teams along with the cybercrime officials.
The team led by the Chennai Airport Inspector Pandi, who monitored the suspects, was assigned to collect the details of those who booked flight tickets between 8 am and 10.30 am. The team maintained strict vigilance at the airport.
Meanwhile, the three robbers went to the Taramani area, where they hid the bike underneath an MRTS pillar, and they reached Chennai airport by car.
While travelling in the car, the gang members removed their top t-shirts to cover up their identity and removed their caps, which they kept in their bags. The gang members shared the booty, and after getting down at the airport, Salman Hussain boarded another autorickshaw to reach Chennai Central railway station.
The team led by Pandi stopped Jaffer Gulam Hussain Irani, who was waiting at the flight counter to collect his boarding pass inside the airport after noticing his sneakers and track pants. He was taken to the police station and questioned.
During interrogation, he told the police that he was stopped by the ticket counter as they suspected his identity proof. However, his accomplice Meesan Amjith Irani cleared immigration and went to board another flight to Hyderabad.
Immediately, the police team led by Inspector of Police Pandi informed the senior officers and the airport officials to stop the flight in which the robbery suspect was boarded. “The team had to explain to the flight crew members and the fellow passengers to convince them by displaying the details of the suspect, as Meesan Amjith Irani also picked up an argument with the police team,” said the Police Commissioner Arun.
The duo was taken into custody, and they revealed information about the third accused, Salman Hussain. The police team collected Salman’s mobile number, tracked his movements, and confirmed him travelling on the Pinakini Express.
After the cops alerted the Railway Protection Force (RPF), they stormed into the Ongole railway station in Andhra Pradesh. The team apprehended Salman Hussain, who was in track pants, sneakers, and a t-shirt. After the RPF team nabbed him, the team from the city police rushed to Ongole and took Salman Hussain into their custody. He was brought to Chennai on Wednesday.
The teams are probing further to determine if there were any other suspects involved in the serial robbery.