Train heist: Despite demonetisation, suspects converted soiled notes

Tamil Nadu CB-CID on Saturday had arrested two members of the gang involved in the heist. The probe team has not recovered any cash from the suspects so far. 

A total of 1.15 lakh notes of old Rs 500, kept in two boxes, weighing about 132 kg, were stolen after cutting open the roof of the money wagon, attached to the train which reached Egmore railway station at 4.30 am on August 9, 2016. 

The incident happened three months before the government scrapped all the old Rs 500 notes and Rs 1000 notes on November 8, 2016. The RBI was transporting a total of Rs 342.70 crore of old and used notes, collected from various banks in Salem and nearby areas, in the wagon on that night, when a gang made away with the money.

The two arrested persons, B Dinesh Pardi (38) and R Rohan Pardi (29) of Ratlam district in Madhya Pradesh, reportedly confessed to the investigators that they had managed to convert 75 per cent of the notes looted into usable currencies before and after demonetisation. 

“They seem to have purchased some properties using the cash. Once we get hold of their leader Mohar Singh, we will know more details,” CB-CID sources said on Sunday. Mohar Singh and few others involved in the burglary were arrested by Madhya Pradesh police in connection with few other cases and have been lodged in Guna Central Prison in Madhya Pradesh. Officials said that they would take Mohar Singh and others into custody for interrogation soon.