Salem: Masked men robbed 550 kg of silver worth Rs 13 crore from a silverware shop in Salem in the wee hours of Monday. Police have launched a hunt to nab the gang who fled in a car.
On Sunday night, shop owner Balasubramani (58), a resident of Chinneri Vayakkadu area of Pallapatti, and employees locked the shop and left.
Around 2 am, four masked men attacked the lone security guard Venkatesa with an iron rod and tied him with ropes. They then smashed the CCTV cameras. The robbers entered the shop through the stairs behind the building. They packed the silverware and bars from the shop and the warehouse and decamped within minutes.
The neighbours gathered after hearing the guard’s screams. Balasubramani, who immediately arrived, found 600 kg of silver items worth Rs 13 crore missing. The Pallapatti police conducted an investigation. Later, Metropolitan Police Commissioner A.G. Babu inspected the scene. He ordered the formation of special teams under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner Bhaskaran and Assistant Commissioner Ramali Ramalakshmi. They are examining the CCTV cameras in the area. Fingerprint experts have also been deployed.