Chennai: Six persons disguised as idol wing sleuths escaped with Rs 11 crore worth gold jewels and Rs 7.5 lakhs in cash from the car belonging to the General Manager of entrepreneur and Idol theft suspect Kiran Rao near Paranur Checkpost in Kancheepuram on Sunday afternoon.
Police said The car belonged the entrepreneur Kiran Rao’s General manager Dayanidhi.
According to the police, the six men intercepted his car near Paranur Checkpost in Chengalpattu on Sunday afternoon and told him that they were from the idol wing department and they had to search his car.
Sources said the car was coming from Madurai heading towards Kiran Rao's office in Royapettah. The gang members ‘questioned’ the occupants and searched the vehicle and stole gold and seized gold and diamond jewels worth Rs 11 crores. The sleuths asked the occupants to collect the jewels and cash from the Idol wing office in Guindy.
However, when Dayanidhi went to the station he found it was a fake ‘raid’ and ‘seizure’.
Following which the GM lodged a complaint with the Chengalpet taluk police. He told police he was carrying Rs 11 crore worth gold jewels and Rs 7 lakh cash. He was travelling by car when a group posing as government officials stopped his car at Paranur Toll Plaza, Chengalpattu.
Dayanidhi said they searched the vehicle and confiscated the valuables and cash asking him to collect it from the police station. The Chengalpattu Taluk Police who registered a case are going through CCTV visuals of the Toll Plaza and are questioning the Tollgate staff.
Kiran Rao was one of the associates of the idol kingpin Ranvir Shah from whom the Idol wing sleuths recovered more than 100 antique idols.
Kiran Rao who owns wild garden cafe and boutique in the city collected some artefacts, including stone idols and pillars, from idol smuggler Ranvir Shah to decorate her restaurant.
When Shah was questioned by the idol wing police, Rao asked hermanager Dayanidhi to shift all the artefacts from her restaurant to her guesthouse in Poes Garden here. Dayanidhi was also questioned in connection with this.
