NAMAKKAL: A gang of four masked men tied up a couple and robbed them of 40 sovereigns of gold jewellery and Rs 40 lakh in cash near Pilikkalpalayam in Namakkal district in the early hours of Monday.The victims have been identified as K Vairavan,60, a jaggery trader, and his wife, Sumathi, 54. They live alone near Cinema Kottagai Medu as their two married daughters live elsewhere.Jedarpalayam police said a gang scaled the compound wall around 12.30am, searched the upper floor of the couple’s house and broke open the ground floor door. “The couple woke up on hearing the commotion. The intruders overpowered and tied them up,” said a police officer.The robbers wanted to know where the couple had kept their valuables. They attacked Vairavan with a knife when he resisted. They then broke open an almirah and fled with gold and cash.Jedarpalayam police registered a case and began investigations. A sniffer dog followed the suspects’ scent on the road towards Chinnamarudur. “Fingerprint experts collected samples from the house, while special police teams began examining CCTV footage and forensic evidence,” superintendent of police Yadav Girish Ashok told reporters.
