Police crack pawn broker murder case after four years, three held

Four years after the brutal murder of a pawn broker here, the Special Task Force of the Puducherry police claimed to have cracked the case. The police arrested a three-member gang that murdered Radhe Shyam Dhoot, 50, at his shop on Maraimalai Adigal Salai on April 5, 2014.

The accused — Gopi alias Gopinath, 30, from Tiruvarur in Tamil Nadu, Arun alias Arul Kumar and Jothi alias Suyam Jothi, 29, both hailing from Thattanchavady here — had escaped with 7.5 kg of jewellery worth ₹1.3 crore from the pawn shop after murdering Mr. Dhoot.

Addressing a press conference, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Rajiv Ranjan said an STF team led by Inspector Karthikeyan and Sub-inspector Ramesh was constituted to nab the murderers.

Taking up the case as a challenge, the team had put several people, including the suspects and their families under surveillance for months. Evidence collected from the crime scene and the nearby shops proved to be vital in zeroing in on the three accused.

The wait and watch

One of the accused, Gopi, worked as a driver in a cement shop adjacent to the pawn shop. He had gone missing from his workplace after the murder and so, the police put him under surveillance. Subsequently, the other two came under watch.

The police observed that the accused’s lifestyle had drastically changed from the pawn broker’s murder and they were living a life of luxury. They had bought assets including land, houses and vehicles. Further investigation revealed that the trio was classmates and they knew very well the daily routine of the pawn broker.

The STF team then laid a trap and arrested them.

Mr. Ranjan said the trio had visited Mr. Dhoot’s pawn shop a day before the murder and pledged a gold ring by furnishing a false name and address. They went to the shop the next day with cash to redeem the ring. The unsuspecting victim went to get the ring from a room inside where the locker was kept.

When he opened the locker, Gopi and Arun, who had quietly followed him, killed him by stabbing him in the stomach and neck with sharp weapons. Jothi was guarding the door. They robbed the jewellery and sped away in a car brought by Jothi.

The trio escaped to Gopi’s hometown in Tiruvarur where they pledged some of the stolen jewellery in banks and selling the rest in various shops with the help of the Gopi’s relative Gokulakrishnan.

Mr. Ranjan said the gold jewellery worth ₹30 lakh pledged in banks and other places would be recovered and all the movable and immovable assets purchased by the accused would be seized.