Robbery attempt near Neelankarai foiled; 5 repeat offenders held with car, weapons

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Police thwarted a robbery attempt on Tuesday and arrested five individuals who were en route to commit the crime. A car and weapons were seized from their possession.

The incident occurred on the evening of September 2 when a police team was conducting vehicle checks at the Akkarai checkpoint within the Neelankarai Police Station limits. They stopped a car coming along the East Coast Road and questioned its five occupants.

The suspects gave inconsistent and contradictory answers, raising suspicions. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed that the car's registration plate had been tampered with, and three knives were found inside the car. The five men and the vehicle were immediately taken to the Neelankarai police station.

During an interrogation led by the Inspector, the suspects confessed to planning a robbery. They had allegedly conspired to target members of the public walking along the East Coast Road. To avoid detection, they had altered the car's number plate and were carrying knives to execute the crime.

A case has been registered, and the arrested individuals have been identified as Udayanithi (aka Suriya) (29), of Madurai, Vigneshwaran (28), of Namakkal, Arif Lal (32), of Kallakurichi, Arun (30), and Ramkumar (28), of Sivagangai. Police confiscated the car used for the crime, the three knives, and two fake number plates.

Further investigation uncovered the extensive criminal histories of the accused. Udayanithi has five prior cases, including murder, assault, and theft. Vigneshwaran has six cases, including murder, highway robbery, and assault. Arif Lal has two cases, including murder, and Arun has two cases, including one for attempted murder.

After interrogation, all five accused were produced before a court and have been remanded in judicial custody.