Tambaram Railway Police Follow Apple Watch, Bust Diamond Heist Gang
The accused were produced before local courts in the respective states, after which the railway police obtained transit warrants and brought them to the Tambaram Railway Police Station
Chennai: The Tambaram Railway Police have arrested two members of a North Indian Railway theft gang in connection with a heist of diamond jewellery worth around Rs 3 crore belonging to a traveller on the Ananthapuri Express from Madurai to Chennai on July 24.
The accused have been identified as Amarnath Jaiswal ,64, who was arrested in Siliguri, West Bengal, and his associate Rajan Kumar, who was arrested in Patna. They were brought to Chennai and produced before a court before remanding them in Puzhal prison.
However, the stolen jewellery has not yet been recovered. Police have so far seized Rs 4 lakh in cash from the accused and are searching for two other alleged accomplices, Ranjan Kumar and Ashok Kumar.
The case relates to a heist while Deepak Sanchetti ,47, a resident of Vepery, who works as a manager at a diamond and gold jewellery showroom in T Nagar, was travelling from Chennai to Madurai with jewels after meeting a customer on July 23 night. He was travelling in an air-conditioned sleeper coach. When he woke up early the next morning, shortly before reaching Tambaram, he found the bag containing jewellery missing. He subsequently lodged a complaint with the Tambaram Railway Police.
As the stolen bag reportedly contained an Apple Smart Watch, investigators tracked its location and found it was lying between Tiruchy and Virudhachalam. This initially led the police to suspect that the theft could have taken place in that section. Three special teams were subsequently formed to investigate the case.
The teams examined CCTV footage and prepared a list of passengers who had travelled in the same coach. During investigation, police zeroed in on Jaiswal and his associates Ranjan Kumar and Ashok Kumar travelled in the same coach.
Police also analysed their mobile phone call records and locations, which confirmed their presence on the train on the day of the theft.
Investigators subsequently traced Jaiswal to Siliguri. A special team, with the assistance of the local police, arrested him. Another team went to Patna in search of Rajan Kumar and arrested him there. Police recovered Rs 4 lakh in cash from him.
The two accused were produced before local courts in the respective states, after which the railway police obtained transit warrants and brought them to the Tambaram Railway Police Station.
During interrogation, police found that Jaiswal had 36 cases registered against him at various railway police stations. Investigators said he was known for travelling along with passengers and stealing valuables when they were distracted.
According to the police, when Sanchetti went to the washroom while the train was between Tiruchy and Virudhachalam, the suspects allegedly stole his bag.
Police said the accused then transferred the jewellery from the stolen bag into their own bags inside the moving train and threw the bag containing the Apple Watch out of the train.
The suspects allegedly continued travelling towards Chennai, while Jaiswal contacted Rajan Kumar over phone and arranged for him to travel to Chennai by flight. Police suspect the stolen diamond jewellery was handed over to Rajan Kumar, who then left with it. The railway police are now making efforts to arrest Ranjan Kumar and Ashok Kumar.
As the jewellery worth Rs 3 crore is yet to be recovered, the police are expected to seek custody of the two arrested accused for further interrogation and to trace the valuables.
