The Pantheerankavu police on Tuesday recovered ₹39 lakh buried in a compound near Kaippalam in connection with the mid-day robbery that happened on June 11 near a financial institution at Pantheerankavu in Kozhikode, Kerala.
Shibin Lal, the main accused in the case had confessed that he had buried the money in the plot that was half a kilometre away from his house at Mankavu. The police had discovered the money wrapped in polythene, yet drenched in the rain, and are in the process of confirming the total amount recovered.
Mr. Lal had escaped with a bag containing ₹40 lakh from a bank employee at Pantheerankavu in Kozhikode on June 11. He had fooled the bank into believing that he had to recover the gold worth ₹59 lakh pledged in a financial institution at Pantheerankavu for which he was short of ₹40 lakh and that he would transfer the gold to the bank once recovered.
Accordingly, a bank official had taken the money to the financial institution to aid Mr. Lal. But the latter snatched the bag and fled the scene on a scooter, which was later found abandoned near the police station. It was also revealed that the receipt for pledging the gold produced by Mr. Lal was fake.
He was detained following a flash inspection at one of his suspected hideouts near Tenhipalam in Malappuram two days later. Six others were also arrested later, but the police could not recover more than ₹55,000 from them. The accused initially refused to give out details of the remaining cash.
Published – July 15, 2025 12:32 pm IST
