February 10, 2023 03:45 pm | Updated 07:42 pm IST - CHENNAI

The jewellery shop is located on the first floor of building on Paper Mills Road | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Over 8 kg of jewellery and diamonds were stolen from J.L. Gold Palace showroom on Paper Mills Road in Perambur on Thursday night by suspects who drilled holes and cut the metal shutter of the outlet.

The police said the suspects took away the hard disc of the surveillance device from the premises. The crime came to light when Sridhar, owner of the shop who stays with his family on the second floor of the same building, was shocked to find the huge hole on the shutters of his shop on Friday morning. He called the police control room. Personnel from the Thiru Vi Ka Nagar police station reached the spot and conducted preliminary investigation.

The shop was ransacked and the safe had been broken open. Approximately 8.1 kg of gold jewellery and a few pieces of diamonds, all worth ₹4.5 crore, were missing.

Additional Commissioner of Police, North, T.S. Anbu, who visited the spot, said: “The suspects gained entry by cutting through the shutters and it is suspected that they used welding machine to drill the hole. Six special teams have been constituted to investigate the case,” he said.

The teams are being led by the Joint Commissioner of Police, North, R.V. Ramya Bharathi, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Pulianthope, I. Eswaran. The police analysed CCTV footage from nearby places and fingerprint experts have lifted some samples from the crime scene.

The police conducted an inquiry with the staff of the showroom with regard to the crime. “We have collected clues and intensified our search. The entire area is under CCTV coverage and now we have got a vital lead. The case will be cracked and the accused will be nabbed soon,” said Mr. Anbu.

In what seems to be a well-planned act, the suspects ensured neither the owner’s family staying on the next floor nor the night beat patrol policemen had any inkling of the theft. In fact, the beat police officers had visited the nearby places and signed the register kept for night patrolling that same night, the sources added.

theft & burglary / Chennai / police

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