Cook from Orissa held for Rs 40 lakh heist

CHENNAI: A cook and his friend, both hailing from Orissa, were arrested for the theft of gold and diamond jewellery worth `40 lakh from a businessman’s house at Abhiramapuram on August 14.According to the police they arrested Rajesh and his friend Vinod Kumar Das from Balasore district in Orissa after they received a tip off that the duo were in that area. The robbery came to light on August 14, when Nitin Goyal, who runs a company manufacturing PVC pipes at Puducherry, and his family returned home from a Neelankarai resort. Upon their return, they allegedly found the lockers in the house broken open, while two women working as household helps were found lying in an unconscious state.Following a police complaint lodged by the businessman, alleging that the household helps were drugged and the valuables stolen, the police began investigations into the case.The police then nabbed the cook in Orissa, who confessed that he had mixed sedatives in the ‘chappatti’ that was given to the household helps.He had then stolen the jewellery with the help of two of his friends, Vinod Kumar Das and Biswajith. Rajesh was appointed as a cook in Nitin Goyal’s  house just a month before the incident after the businessman’s friend recommended him for the job.Based on the information gathered from Rajesh, the police also arrested his friend Vinod Kumar and recovered the stolen loot. They are on the lookout for Biswajith, who is absconding.