Two arrested for 35-lakh heist

CHENNAI: Two of the three people who allegedly abducted a driver at Thoraipakkam on Monday and escaped with Rs 35 lakh were arrested on Tuesday.
Police said they arrested Irfanul, 22, from Assam and Rajendran, 40, who lives near Nemmilichery. They are still looking for four others who have been linked to the crime. The men were staying at Rajendran’s house.Rajendran works with a private security agency in the city. Earlier, police said only three people were involved in the crime.
Balaji, 30, was abducted on Monday while waiting for his friend Johnson, a collection agent with a private agency, at Thoraipakkam on Old Mahabalipuram Road.
Balaji was sitting in his car, while Johnson went to collect the day’s takings from a Tasmac shop there. They had already visited seven Tasmac stores and collected . 35lakh, which was in the car.
Three men got into the car, threatened Balaji with a knife and made him drive towards Pallikaranai. They pushed him out of the car at Pallikaranai and escaped in the car.
Balaji called Johnson from a public call office and said he had been abducted by a gang that stole the collections. Police said that the thieves wanted to loot the entire collection from 20 Tasmac shops in and around Thoraipakkam that Johnson was scheduled to visit.
“We have formed special teams to nab the remaining four culprits and hope to track them down soon,” said a police official.