COIMBATORE: A masked man robbed a leading finance firm at Ramanathapuram of 816 sovereigns of gold jewellery worth Rs 2 crores and Rs 1 lakh cash on Saturday. The robbery occurred at 3.10 pm when the firm was witnessing brisk business, and two female staff were assaulted in the process. Police have formed four special teams to investigate the case, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) P Perumal.
According to the police, the man seemed to know his way around the place. Soon after he entered, he went straight to the two staff on duty — Renugadevi and Divya — and knocked them out cold.
He then reportedly took the keys to the locker and escaped with the 816 sovereigns of gold jewellery and Rs 1 lakh cash. Police are probing further.
A masked man robbed a leading finance firm at Ramanathapuram of 816 sovereigns gold jewellery worth `2 crore and `1 lakh cash on Saturday. The robbery occurred at 3.10pm when the firm was witnessing brisk business. Police have formed four special teams to investigate the incident, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) P Perumal.
According to the police, the man seemed to know his way around the place. Soon after he entered, he went straight to the two staff on duty –Renugadevi and Divya – and knocked them out cold. He then reportedly took the keys to the locker and escaped with the 816 sovereigns jewellery and `1 lakh cash. It was nearly an hour later the women came around and informed higher authorities, who then alerted the police.
Inquiry with the women and footage from the surveillance cameras in the building confirmed that only one man was involved in the crime. Sources said the man had arrived on a two-wheeler and entered the firm’s branch office as a customer looking for a gold loan. Even as he was making his way up to the first floor of the building, where the branch is located, a man in a shop on the ground floor reportedly asked him about the mask he was wearing. The suspect is said to have indicated with hand gestures that he was there to deposit jewellery; he had even pointed to the bag he was carrying. It may be noted that the man got away with assaulting both the staff and stealing the money and jewellery at a time when the firm had quite a few customers waiting to be served.
Forensic science experts collected evidence, including fingerprints, from the crime scene. All police stations in the district are on high alert, even as police suspected that the man is probably lying low. They have also collected details of the firm’s former employees to check if the man had had any insider help. Preliminary inquiry too seemed to indicate the involvement of former workers or someone well known to the firm, sources claimed. Not only did the man know exactly where the locker was, he also seemed to have known that only two women would be at work around 3-4 pm; the firm does not have any security personnel either.
Police have registered a case. After word of the robbery got out on Sunday, many customers rushed to the branch to ensure that their jewellery is safe. However, they did not receive proper information from the management.