Robbery @ Podanur Railway Station

Passengers at the Podanur railway station witnessed a gory scene early Wednesday morning when a five-member gang robbed a jaggery merchant to the tune of Rs 9.25 lakh, sprinkling chilly powder on his face and attacking him with a sickle before fleeing with his suitcase containing the money. The incident occurred at the ticket counter in full public view.

According to railway police and witnesses at the station, the gang had targeted Zaheer Hussain (46) of Neyakarapathi near Palani at around 6.10 am as soon as he alighted from the Chennai bound West Coast Express. Both Zaheer Hussain and his staff Faizal Rahman (29) were walking towards the station's exit when they were confronted by the gang in front of the ticket counter.

While one gang member sprinkled his face with chilly powder, another attacked him with a sickle. Debilitated and writhing in pain, the culprits were able to easily snatch his suitcase filled with money, escaping the scene by jumping the station wall. Zaheer, who had sustained a deep cut injury on his thigh, collapsed. "The whole incident took place in a matter of seconds. When a few of us who witnessed the crime attempted to help Zaheer, the thieves threatened to attack us," said Faizal. A few other passengers chased the culprits but they managed to escape by scaling the station wall where a car was waiting for them. The station is an isolated area. There were very few passengers and hardly any cops on patrol at the junction, making it easy for the robbers to escape.

Police suspect that the culprits may have known the victim, as they had followed the jaggery merchants to rob them, well aware that they had huge amounts of cash in hand. The money in the suitcase was payment Zaheer had received for supplying jaggery in Thalassery and Kannur, North Kerala. A couple of witnesses told the police that the car they escaped in had a Kerala registration number. Police have started studying the CCTV images recorded to get vital clues.

Zaheer said he travelled between Coimbatore and Kannur at least three times a week. Almost always, he availed the night bus services. This was the first time he travelled by train. Jaggery merchants Mahendrakumar, Madurai Nhanasekharan and Abu Tahir were also with Zaheer and Faizal but the gang only targeted him. All of them were carrying huge amounts of cash.Railway police have handed over the case to Podanur police for effective coordination and investigation. This is the first time that the railway station is witnessing a robbery of this magnitude in broad daylight. Zaheer is presently receiving treatment at a private hospital.

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