Unidentified persons allegedly broke into a locked vegetable and fruit shop at Nadupalayam near Malayampalayam in Erode district and decamped with ₹1 lakh in cash recently.

The shop belongs to Daniel Abraham, 27, of Kilambadi village, who has been running the business in Nadupalayam for the past seven years. According to police, he had recently borrowed ₹3 lakh through a daily-instalment loan scheme to expand his business. After paying ₹2 lakh at the Erode vegetable market, he kept the remaining ₹1 lakh in the shop’s cash box. After closing the shop on May 28 night, Mr. Abraham returned home.

The following morning, Anandhan, a worker who arrived to unload vegetable sacks, noticed that the shop’s shutter lock had been broken and alerted the owner. Mr. Abraham rushed to the shop and found that the cash kept in the box was missing. He subsequently lodged a complaint with the Malayampalayam police, who have begun an investigation. Meanwhile, CCTV footage purportedly showing two youths breaking the lock, entering the shop and fleeing with the cash has surfaced.