KOCHI: Three young men are in deep trouble after attempting to pawn a stolen imitation gold chain at a finance company in Pachalam in Kochi.
Jithin Joseph, 23, of Vagamon, Bibin Shaji,19, of Villunni, and Gowtham, 20, of Peermade were first arrested on March 22 for pawning the fake gold chain at a private finance firm named Geo VPL Indian Nidhi in Pachalam. The accused persons are now facing a separate theft case registered against them at Aluva West Police Station.
“The chain weighed 36 grams and was handed over to the employee of the finance company. When they checked, it was found to be imitation jewellery. The accused were confident that it is made of gold. So the employees refused to hand over the chain and called the police. The accused persons threatened the employees before fleeing from the place,” a police official said.
Later, police identified the accused after conducting a probe based on CCTV footage recovered from the company. “The accused initially believed that people in the finance company were trying to cheat them. Only after being arrested for attempting to pawn an imitation gold chain, they realized that the chain was made not made of gold forcing them to confess the crime,” an officer said.
One of the accused confessed that they stole the chain from the house of a person named Pauly at Illathupadu Purakkadu in Alangadu Village on March 21. “The house owner gave the contract for cleaning to the company where the accused persons were working.
While cleaning the house, they managed to decamp with the chain kept inside the almirah. As it was an imitation gold chain, the house owner did not lodge any complaints. The next day, the accused reached the finance company for pawning it,” the officer said.