KRISHNAGIRI: In a case of highway robbery, a gang of eight persons waylaid a mobile phone-laden truck heading from Chennai towards Bengaluru and made away with Xiaomi mobile phones worth Rs 15 crore near Melumalai near Shoolagiri in the early hours of Wednesday.
According to police sources, K Sathish Kumar (29), from Poonamalle near Chennai , was driving the lorry towards Bengaluru. He was accompanied by N Arun (34) a driver hailing from Coimbatore. When they reached Melumalai near Shoolagiri, some miscreants waylaid the vehicle and allegedly attacked both the drivers after blindfolding them. Their hands were reportedly tied by the robbers who deputed three persons to prevent them from escaping.
Meanwhile, the rest of the gang drove off with the lorry and the 14,340 mobile phones on it. The lorry was later abandoned at Azhagubhavi, 10 km from Melumalai.
Sources said the robbers untied the ropes binding Arun before fleeing.
The two drivers sought help from a '108' ambulance that was passing by Melumalai and got admitted to the Krishnagiri District Government Headquarters Hospital while the ambulance driver informed the police.
Subsequently, a manager from the Bengaluru unit of Xiaomi lodged a complaint at the Shoolagiri police station.
Superintendent of Police Bandi Gangadhar said that police suspected involvement of a gang, from Madhya Pradesh, that was reportedly involved in similar highway robberies in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
He said five special teams, each consisting of 10 police personnel have started to investigate the case. Police sources added that a special team was headed to Dewas district in Madhya Pradesh.