The Kochi City police have taken five people into custody and seized two cars in connection with a robbery of ₹81 lakh from a steel trading firm at Kundannur on Wednesday even as three men, who allegedly took away the money by brandishing lethal weapons, were still on the run.
Two of the five men in custody have been identified as Saji and Vishnu, while the police have not revealed the identity of the remaining three who are suspected to be accomplices of the duo.
Saji was taken into custody from Kochi and Vishnu from Thrissur, District Police Chief (Kochi city) Putta Vimaladitya told mediapersons on Thursday.
The role of both Saji and Vishnu in the crime has become clear and they would be arraigned as accused in the case, the officer said.
“The incident happened at a steel shop run by one Subin and ₹81 lakh has been stolen. A detailed investigation supervised by Ernakulam ACP is on. The three masked men who carried out the robbery are yet to be nabbed. The stolen money and the weapons used by the accused are also to be recovered,” Mr. Vimaladitya said.
Saji is an accomplice of Subin and is suspected to have been aware of the presence of the large sum of money at the shop. Saji was present at the shop when the alleged crime took place, police sources said earlier.
Subin on Wednesday claimed that he had withdrawn the money from bank for purchasing materials. The district police chief on Thursday said the source of the stolen money was also being verified.
The police seized one car from Thrissur and the other one from a different location, Mr. Vimaladitya said. One of the cars is suspected to be the vehicle in which the gang fled after the crime. The vehicles were found abandoned, the police officer said.
“We are verifying who the cars belong to and who arranged them. The background of those in custody are also being verified,” Mr. Vimaladitya said.
The alleged crime happened at the shop around 3 pm when the three men rushed to the shop and took away the money which was reportedly being counted. The robbers reportedly fled the scene after wielding a gun and swords at those in the shop. The police said it was yet to be verified if the gun was a real one.
Published – October 09, 2025 03:10 pm IST
