Six persons, including two former police personnel from Tamil Nadu, have been arrested for allegedly posing as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers and robbing a man from Chinnakanal of cash, gold and other valuables.

The accused are Nagendran (43) of Dindigul, Karuppaiah (46) of Seelayampatti, Rajkumar (45) and Ponnuchamy (61) of Usilampatti, Jothibass (35) of Perungamanallur, and Bharat (35) of Guruvilampatti.

The incident occurred on Tuesday in Palanichettipatti, Theni district. The complainant, Perumal Samy (47), who is engaged in brick and firewood trading, was allegedly abducted and robbed by the six-member gang.

Police said Perumal Samy was waiting to meet a friend when three men arrived in a car, introducing themselves as CBI officers and claiming he needed to accompany them for questioning. During the journey, three more men joined the vehicle.

The accused allegedly seized ₹2.63 lakh in cash, a one-sovereign gold chain, a laptop and two mobile phones before abandoning the complainant near the Theni-Koonoor toll gate.

Following a complaint lodged by Perumal Samy, police formed special investigation teams, which led to the arrest of all six suspects.

Nagendran and Ponnuchamy are former police personnel who were dismissed from service for prior criminal activity. Investigators also suspect the accused are linked to a gang involved in iridium-related fraud cases.

Police said Karuppaiah was acquainted with the complainanr and this familiarity allegedly helped the gang target and abduct him to extort money and valuables.