The police on Thursday arrested three persons hailing from Ernakulam district in Kerala in connection with a highway robbery near Ettimadai in Coimbatore district on July 12, in which a goldsmith from Thrissur lost ₹30 lakh.
Maneesh Kuttappan, 31, from Mattoor, Vishnu Vidyadharan, 32, from Okkal, and Joseph David, 26, from Manjapra in Ernakulam district were arrested from a place close to Kerala border. The police recovered ₹6 lakh from them.
The K.G. Chavadi police were on the lookout for a group of men after K. Jayan, 50, of Wadakkanchery in Thrissur district complained that he was robbed of ₹30 lakh on a flyover on Salem – Kochi highway (NH 544) at Ettimadai junction on July 12.
The robbery took place when Mr. Jayan was heading to Thrissur, where he is employed in a gold smithery, in a motorcycle with ₹30 lakh. A gang intercepted him at Ettimadai junction and robbed him of the cash, besides abducting him along with them in their car and dropping him around 1 km away.
A police officer said that people from three districts – Thrissur, Ernakulam and Palakkad – were involved in the robbery. Some of them had specific information that Mr. Jayan was carrying the cash to Kerala on July 12 and tasked others with the robbery, logistics and escape plans.
The police are on the lookout for the remaining accused.
Published – July 17, 2025 07:57 pm IST
