Salem in Tamil Nadu is famous for notorious characters and some of them trained and sent to other states to make their living and pass on the share to the boss. In a scene that seemed right out of a heist movie, thieves broke open the roof of a parcel van attached to the Salem-Chennai Express and stole Rs. 5.78 crore cash. The cash was part of a consignment of soiled currency notes being transported by the Reserve Bank of India for destruction. The theft was detected several hours after the train that left Salem arrived in Chennai Egmore Railway Station. Incidentally, a team of armed police personnel led by an Assistant Commandant escorted the van and were in the adjoining compartment. Police said a rectangular hole measuring around 2ft by 1.5 ft was drilled on the roof of the van that contained 226 wooden boxes of soiled but usable currency totalling Rs. 325 crore. The train, comprising 19 coaches including three parcel vans faced Salem steal plan. The parcel vans were detached from the rake and moved to the yard. The theft came to light when workers entered the van after the seal of the compartment was opened by RBI officials in the presence of police personnel. Currency kept in four boxes was found stolen. It was a well-planned operation and the security guards had no clues about what was happening in their next compartment.
Shanthi Ramanathan
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
