Kerala: 12-member gang kidnaps 2 persons on national highway, steal gold worth ₹1.8 crore

A 12-member gang cornered a car on the national highway near Peechi in Kerala, kidnapping two persons and stealing over 2.5kg of gold ornaments on Thursday, News18 reported citing police officials.

A video of the incident was caught on the dashcam and uploaded to social media. In the video, at least three SUVs are seen blocking the vehicle as the highway narrowed near a section of the flyover that was under construction.

The gang members in the SUVS boxed on the car and kidnapped two men, who the police identified as Arun Sunny and Rojy Thomas. According to police, a complaint regarding the incident was filed on Wednesday, and an FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as reported by PTI.

The FIR states that the incident occurred on September 22, who were assaulted at first and robbed of 2.5 kg of jewelry valued at ₹1.84 crore. The two men were released later.

The police is currently investigating the case. According to The Hindu, a special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to probe the matter as well.

Another instance of a robbery took place in Thrissur as a five-member gang stole ₹65 lakh in cash from three different ATMs. They used a gas cutter to cut the cash tray and walked away with cash without any witnesses. CCTV cameras had also been painted over to prevent their indentification.

However, the police told PTI that a nearby hotel had captured five men with covered faces going across the street towards a SBI ATM.