KOCHI: The Kerala police have nabbed the Bihar native from Udupi in Karnataka, who absconded with gold and diamonds worth Rs 1 crore from veteran Malayalam filmmaker Joshiy's house at Panampilly Nagar, within 24 hours of the robbery that happened on Saturday.
The suspect is identified as Mohammed Irshad, a native of Bihar, who was caught in a filmy-style chase that spanned two states. Police are investigating the role of other persons in the heist. Irshad was apprehended in Udupi along with the material evidence with the help of Karnataka police.
When the probe began on Saturday morning, the cops had just one piece of evidence -- a grainy CCTV picture of the suspect. However, police were able to zero in on the robber's face, after getting a vital lead through CCTV images that a Maharashtra-registered vehicle was parked near the premises of the burgled house around 3 am on Saturday.
Kerala police, with the help of latest technology, identified the person as Irshad, who they found was involved in several other crimes that were reported in other states. He was also on the wanted list of the police.
Two diamond necklaces, 10 diamond rings, 8 pairs of diamond earrings, 10 gold chains, 10 gold bangles, and 10 luxury watches were stolen from the bedroom of the Joshiy's house in Kochi's posh Panampilly Nagar on the wee hours of Saturday.
"Though we inspected the entire house, we could gather the information that the robber entered through the kitchen door. We couldn't find sufficient evidence to lead us to the robber," said Sudarsan K S, DCP Law and Order.
However, the police were not ready to give up, as they started looking for the presence of other unusual activity near the premises.
"We were able to trace a Maharashtra-registered vehicle near the premises and also obtained a grainy picture of the robber from CCTV. Since it was difficult to arraign him as the accused, we did some groundwork. We started tracing the whereabouts of the vehicle and the person with the help of technology," added the DCP.
The police also obtained a vital clue that the person who used the same vehicle was behind the heist, as they were able to trace the location of the vehicle.
"We have cameras that automatically detect vehicle numbers. This helped us conclude that he was escaping in the same vehicle. The presence of the vehicle was also detected on camera. With this, we have issued an alert to all the state police chiefs of five neighbouring states. Finally, we were able to nab him from Udupi with the help of Karnataka police," said Sudarsan.
Meanwhile, police have also discovered that the accused drove the vehicle from Mumbai to Kochi for the robbery. "We need to investigate why he planned the heist in Kochi and how he was able to locate the director's house. We can only unravel the mystery once we start the interrogation," said the DCP.
The police also confirmed that Irshad planned the heist and executed it. "He was already involved in several other crimes that were reported in other states. He is also on the police's wanted list," the officer said.
The daring robbery was executed by the Bihar native from the room of Joshiy's son Abhilash, who is also a film director. Abhilash was not at home when the theft happened wheras Joshiy and other family members were present.