The Tiruchi district police recently declared a major breakthrough in the Samayapuram dacoity case, successfully arresting all 12 suspects, including one woman. This comes after a brazen robbery on the night of September 13, where a gang made off with almost 10 kilograms of gold jewelry from a car.
Tiruchi Superintendent of Police S. Selvanagarathinam confirmed that all the arrested individuals are from North India, with a few having temporarily resided in Chennai. The initial case was registered by the Samayapuram police.
According to Mr. Selvanagarathinam, five dedicated special teams were formed to investigate the intricate dacoity. Their diligent efforts resulted in the recovery of 9.68 kg of stolen gold jewelry and gold biscuits, along with ₹6.05 lakh in cash, a car, a crude pistol with two live rounds, seven smartphones, 40 SIM cards, and various jewelry tags.
The incident unfolded when S. Gunawanth and D. Mahesh, employees of a Chennai-based jewelry outlet, were returning to the city. They were transporting approximately 10 kg of gold jewelry, remnants from sales to retailers across Erode, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Dindigul districts. Their journey was interrupted near the Samayapuram toll plaza on the Tiruchi-Chennai highway when they pulled over in a secluded area. Pradeep Jat, a 24-year-old from Rajasthan, was driving their car.
It was at this vulnerable moment that a gang of four or five, who had been tailing them in a separate vehicle, attacked. They sprayed chili powder on Gunawanth and Mahesh before snatching the jewelry. Investigators meticulously reviewed CCTV footage from various toll plazas and, through thorough analysis, discovered that the assailants’ car bore a fake registration number, tracing its true owner back to Rajasthan.
Realizing the inter-state nature of the crime, the special teams expanded their search, traveling across Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar. A crucial breakthrough revealed the mastermind: Pradeep Jat, the driver of the victims’ car, who had only recently joined the jewelry outlet. He had provided inside information to his accomplices about the gold-laden vehicle’s route. His friends, Hanuman and Kailash, based in Chennai, then coordinated with the rest of the gang.
After more than three weeks of relentless investigation and invaluable support from police forces in other states, the special teams successfully apprehended all 12 accused. They were located and arrested from various cities including Chennai, Mumbai, and different parts of Madhya Pradesh, as confirmed by the SP.
Further inquiries uncovered that a portion of the stolen gold had been melted down in Mumbai, while other pieces were sold. Remarkably, the police achieved a 97% recovery rate, which the SP highlighted as one of the highest in such complex dacoity cases. He added that efforts are underway to swiftly file the chargesheet.
The individuals arrested in connection with the dacoity include Pradeep Jat, Manohar Ram, Pannaram Devasi (also known as Vinod), Sohail Khan (Mohamed Sohail), Kailash, Hanuman Jat, Manish (alias Manish Sirohi), Mangilal, Vikram Jat, Bharat Ram, Rakesh, and Lakshmi Devi.