Gold worth Rs 26 lakh stolen after chilli powder attack; Police zero in on suspect in late twist

MUVATTUPUZHA: Police ascertained that the incident of culprits spraying chilli powder and robbing gold worth Rs 26 lakh was a hoax weaved by a private bank manager. Rahul Raghunathan, a resident of Muvattupuzha, complained to the police that a group robbed him of gold after throwing chilli powder in his eyes while he was riding a scooter near the Trika temple.

The complaint also stated that the incident took place while Rahul was heading towards a bank to return the gold taken. However, police had to interrogate Rahul in detail after 530 grams of gold was found to be short in the auditing of a company in Vazahapally where Rahul works.

The time allotted for Rahul by the bank to return the gold also ended on Friday. All these incidents instilled doubt in Rahul's conduct. Police later recovered the gold from the spot where Rahul said it went missing. Police also concluded that the hoax was created to escape the bank procedures.

However, the police have not yet filed a case in the incident after the company owners refrained from moving against Rahul. The case was investigated by a police team led by Muvattupuzha DySP AJ Thomas.

However, the DySP has not ruled out the prospect of filing a case against Rahul for duping police officials.