A few days after the robbery of Rs.5 crore from a Salem to Chennai goods train was reported, the CB-CID personnel investigating the train heist are recreating the event by piecing together the probable sequences.
On Saturday , police personnel tried to cut open a 4sqft hole on the ceiling of a train's compartment using a chisel and a battery-operated saw.Sources said the hole-making took 50 minutes.
Accirding to The Times of India, The CB-CID started the probe on Thursday but is yet to gain any major breakthrough. At least seven 10-member teams, each headed by a deputy inspector-general or a superintendent, are on the job.
A day after the heist, the case was transferred to the CB-CID. The investigation was headed by additional director-general of police Karan Singha. He was assisted by deputy superintendent Sivanu Pandian, the designated inquiry officer.
“The train left with 19 coaches, including the currency wagon, from the Salem railway station at 9pm on Monday. The train reached Vrid dachalam railway station at 11.55pm. Police are analysing whether it is possible for anyone to cut open the roof of a train moving at a speed of 90100 kmhr,“ a police officer said.
It is strongly suspected that the theft happened at the Chetpet yard. Police operated the wagon from Tambaram railway station at the same speed early on Saturday . They also analysed CCTV footage recorded at the Tambaram station. “The CCTV footage is not very clear and ais unlikely to yield anything,“ officers said.
The nine police personnel on guard duty in the train, including assistant commissioner Nagarajan from Salem, are facing departmental action. Nagarajan said, “We were well equipped with arms, including two AK-47 rifles. If we noticed any robber on the roof of the compartment, we would have gunned him down immediately .“ Admitting that they had booked nine berths in the S-1compartment, he said they had taken turns and travelled in compartments on either side of currency wagon.
The money on the train, totaling Rs 342 crore, was being transported from the Indian Overseas Bank, Salem to RBI, Chennai in 226 boxes, of which 4 boxes were found to be tampered with, say police. The train was operating between Salem and Chennai Egmore station, and it was in Chennai that the robbery was detected. However, the cash being transported were reportedly soiled notes.
One box was found to be empty, another half-empty and the other two spilled over, according to the police.
The police have currently cordoned off the area to investigate. The compartment was sealed and protected, and the point of entry into the compartment was found to be a hole made in the roof of coach.
There was a scheduled halt at Vridhachalam for an engine change. The diesel engine was changed to an electric engine, and while there is a suspicion that the robbery could have happened there, it is unlikely, say police.