Two held for pledging fake gold

Two Sri Lankan Tamils were arrested for attempting to pledge fake gold jewellery at a private finance company on Wednesday. So far, the duo have conned 12 gold loan firms in the city.

Police said that Vijaya Srikanth alias Kandabala and Padmanabhan, who hail from Jaffna and Colombo respectively, and now reside in Palavakkam, tried to pledge five bangles at a gold loan firm at Gandhi Road,  Sriperumbudur.

Sensing that the gold appraiser had realised all the bangles were not gold, the conmen fled. Only three were made of gold, while the others were gold-plated. The firm alerted the Sriperumbudur police and lodged a complaint.

The police established the identities of the men using CCTV footage and subsequently apprehended them in Palavakkam.

During the interrogation they admitted they had conned at least  12 gold loan firms in Chennai alone.

A case has been registered and further investigations are on.

Murder Victim Identified

The city police on Wednesday established the identity of a murder victim, whose body was found in a forest area near Pallikaranai with a slit throat a few days ago.

The victim was identified as Arumugam, a resident of Teynampet, by his family. He was an autorickshaw driver and had reportedly eloped with a girl, which could have led to his murder, police said.

The body was found with a disfigured face and with a stab injury on his throat.

So far, the police have not arrested anyone in connection with the murder. (Source: New Indian Express)