Gang of 3 robs woman at knifepoint

CHENNAI: Fired by a contractor, three men robbed his 45-year-old wife at knifepoint on Friday after hiding inside her house in busy Arumbakkam and taking her by surprise when there was no one else at home.
But neighbours caught one of the sacked employees, P Baskar, 42, of Madipakkam, and recovered the 11 sovereigns (88g) of gold jewellery and 10,000 in cash that they had taken from the contractor's wife G Indira.
The other two, S Arumugam, 32, and K Rajendran, 27, made good their escape from the house on Shakthi Nagar Main Road, an investigating officer said. The three men were carpenters who Gunasekaran, 50, had fired a couple of months ago.
Neighbours handed over Baskar to the Arumbakkam police and investigators later apprehended Rajendran of Thiruvannamalai. They also arrested D Shanmugam, 28, and B Suresh, 18, both of Moovarasampet, for helping plot the crime.
The three men gained entry into Indira's house when she went to dry clothes on the terrace. They hid themselves and pounced on Indira when she returned. They brandished knives at her and tied her up before snatching her 7-sovereign gold chain. The men also took 4 sovereigns of gold jewellery and 10,000 from a cupboard.
Indira's daughter Kavitha returned home from college just as they were about to leave. She heard her mother cry out and tried to stop the men but they pushed her aside. Kavitha raised an alarm and neighbours came to the rescue. One neighbour chased the robbers and caught Baskar.
Gunasekaran had sacked Baskar because he was irregular to work, the officer said.
Indira, still clearly shocked two hours after the robbery, told TOI that the men had hidden themselves on a shelf. "Before I could raise an alarm, they threatened to kill me," she said. "They tied me up and snatched my chain before ransacking the house."
Her daughter said she froze for a moment when she saw the armed strangers and her mother tied up. "I shouted at them and cried out for help," Kavitha said.
When investigators interrogated Baskar, he revealed that he and the others planned to rob Gunasekaran's wife in vengeance for sacking them and because they had run out of money. They knew that Indira would be alone at home in the afternoon and decided to target her.
Police have launched a search for Arumugam.