VELLORE: Unidentified miscreants drilled a hole into a jewellery showroom and decamped with valuables worth crores in the city on Wednesday. The incident happened at an outlet of Jos Alukkas, a gold retail chain, at Katpadi Road here.
According to police sources, the perpetrators drilled a hole in the wall at the backside of the building, located in the central area in the city and stole 15 kilograms of gold jewellery worth over Rs 8 crores (approximately) among other items.
They wore dark face masks and meticulously sprayed paint to all 12 CCTV cameras placed inside the shop, the sources added. The employees found out about the theft when they opened the showroom in the morning and informed the police. DIG (Vellore range) AG Babu, SP S Rajesh Kannan and other senior police personnel reached the spot.
“Diamond jewellery has also been stolen. A wig and other evidence have been collected from the spot. CCTV footage around the spot is being scanned. Monitoring in the district border has been tightened,” the police said.
"CCTV footage in the shop has captured the burglars. We have formed four special investigation teams. We have got some clues as of now, but we can’t reveal the details yet as it would hamper the investigation," Kannan said.
It is learnt that the plot adjacent to the showroom is empty. Police said the thieves either could have gained access to the building through the damaged compound wall in the empty plot or they could have entered into the building through the terrace.
"The thieves had spent hours drilling the wall, still the hole is thin which means only slim persons could have entered the building. Employees of the store are being questioned," the police sources added.