In a shocking incident that rattled the entire Theni district, four masked robbers broke into a house in Naga City, a residential area under the jurisdiction of the Veerapandi Police Station, on the night of June 12 around 1 AM.
Sivakumar, his wife Bodhumani, and their grandchild were asleep inside when the gang intruded. Holding a knife to the child’s neck, the robbers threatened the family and looted approximately 15 sovereigns of gold jewellery and ₹10,000 in cash.
The incident caused widespread fear and commotion across the district. Theni District Superintendent of Police, Sivaprasad, immediately visited the crime scene to inspect. Following this, a special task force was formed under the leadership of Andipatti Sub-Inspector Manikandan. The team carried out intensive investigations across Tamil Nadu and Kerala in search of the culprits.
Eventually, the accused were traced to Tiruppur, apprehended, and brought back to Theni. In a bizarre twist, the robbers had also stolen three parked two-wheelers to aid their escape and further crimes.
Those arrested include:
Praveen Kumar (24) from Theni,
Lenin Kumar (22) from Veerapandi,
Mohammed Rafiq (30) from Tiruppur, and
Murugan (41) from Vannipathai, Cuddalore.
Each of them has 20 to 40 criminal cases against them across Tamil Nadu. The investigation revealed that the four met and became friends while in prison, and upon release, resumed criminal activities together, targeting homes and travelers.
They confessed to the Theni robbery and disclosed that the looted gold was melted and split near the Veerappa Ayyanar Temple, and later, a stolen two-wheeler was used to reach Allinagaram. The stolen jewels were eventually sold to a well-known black-market gold dealer, Muthumani (41), originally from Bodinayakkanpatti but based in Coimbatore.
Muthumani is currently under intensive police interrogation, suspected of being involved in purchasing stolen jewellery linked to several other theft cases in Theni district.
All four accused were remanded in judicial custody. In recognition of their relentless pursuit and successful arrests over the past 15 days across various districts, the Theni District Superintendent of Police Sivaprasad IPS commended Sub-Inspectors Manikandan (Andipatti), Arun (Chinnamanur), Jeevanandham (Palani Chettipatti) and their teams for their exceptional work.
