Ex-Employee Masterminded Armed Robbery of Boss's Cash, Blew Cut on Wife's Baby Shower

Umar Farooq, a resident of Padi, Chennai, operates a steel factory called 'Steel Jobs' in Korattur. On the 25th of last month, he asked his employee Ranjith Kumar to collect 18.80 lakh rupees in cash from his brother's house on Padi Mosque Street.

Ranjith Kumar collected the money and was travelling by motorcycle along the 2nd Street of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board colony when six men on two bikes — faces covered — confronted him, threatened him with knives, and snatched the 18.80 lakh rupees. Ranjith Kumar reported the robbery to his employer, and Umar Farooq filed a complaint at Korattur police station.

CCTV Gives It Away

Police registered a case and brought Ranjith Kumar in for questioning. He told them that he had been speaking with Sathish, a former colleague who had worked at the same factory six months earlier, when the six men appeared and robbed him at knifepoint. Officers seized and reviewed CCTV footage from the area, and it corroborated Ranjith Kumar's account.

How the Former Employee Was Caught

Police focused their investigation on Sathish Kumar, the man Ranjith Kumar had been speaking with at the time, and tracked him down. He was arrested in the Sengkalpet area and brought to Korattur police station for interrogation. What he revealed during questioning was shocking.

Sathish Kumar had previously worked at Umar Farooq's company handling cash runs — collecting money and delivering it. He was dismissed six months before the incident for misconduct. Even after losing his job, he retained detailed knowledge of the company's cash-handling operations: who carried money, when, and by which route.

On the day of the robbery, Sathish Kumar called Ranjith Kumar more than eight times to pinpoint exactly where he was and which road he was taking. He then assembled a gang: his friend Mohamed Arif, and five others from the Tirunelveli and Tuticorin areas — six accomplices in total.

Sathish Kumar called Ranjith Kumar and arranged to meet him under the pretense of ordinary conversation. When they met, his accomplices on two motorcycles brandished knives. Sathish Kumar himself acted frightened and urged Ranjith Kumar, "Just give them the money — they'll do something to both of us if you don't." Terrified, Ranjith Kumar handed over all 18.80 lakh rupees to the gang.

After sending Ranjith Kumar on his way with the instruction to report the robbery to his employer, Sathish Kumar collected just 25,000 rupees from his accomplices — agreeing to divide the rest later.

Baby Shower with Stolen Cash

Sathish Kumar travelled to his hometown of Thanjavur with the 25,000 rupees and used the money to hold a baby shower ceremony for his wife. The following day, as he was returning to Chennai, police arrested him at Sengkalpet.

The Twist Involving His Friends

Police also arrested all six accomplices — Sudalaimuthu, Isakkipandi, Murugan, Anandakumar, Mohamed Arif, and Mutturaja — who had been moving around the Tirunelveli and Tuticorin areas with the money.

In a further twist, Sathish Kumar told police that when he called his accomplices to arrange dividing the loot, they simply switched off their phones and absconded with all the cash — leaving him with only the 25,000 rupees he had taken upfront.

Of the 18.80 lakh rupees stolen, police have so far recovered only 7.25 lakh rupees. Investigators are now pressing the accused on the whereabouts of the remaining amount.