Chennai: The Chennai Police have arrested a 39-year-old Thrissur native, who had been carrying out robberies on trains along the Kerala-Chennai route.
Shahul Hameed, however, is no pauper trying to make money for a square meal. He reportedly owns a hotel in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. He has been married twice and was getting prepared for the third when he was nabbed by the police.
Detailed questioning revealed that Hameed had been carrying out a series of robberies on train. The police recovered 110 sovereigns of gold worth Rs 28 lakh among other valuables from him.
According to the police sources, Hameed made meticulous planning before carrying out the robbery.
Well dressed, Hameed reaches the station one hour prior to the commencement of the journey and identifies his possible targets. He even gathers information about these people on his laptop.
He takes sleeper and AC tickets for the same train, and changes coaches to carry out robberies. The stolen jewellery is then sold to make money.
Hameed has travelled to 11 countries, and can speak around six languages, including French and Spanish. He reportedly has secured a post-graduate degree from Netherlands. He, his wife and another friend run the hotel in Malaysia.
He was caught by a team comprising railway DGP C Sylendra Babu and DIG V Balakrishnan.
