COIMBATORE: It was the dead of the night. The agony of indecision was very much evident in the eyes of the ‘night-time customer’ at the jeweller, as he was meticulously sorting out the gold ornaments and putting them in his bag. Minutes and hours passed by, and he left the shop, sporting a smile of contentment on his face.
When the employees of Jos Alukkas showroom in Gandhipuram reached their workplace around 10 am on Tuesday, they were taken aback, as at least 150 to 200 sovereigns were stolen from the shop. Police said the intruder gained entry into the showroom located on the second floor of the four-storey building through a gap between the wall and a false wall in the building.
Police have formed five special teams to investigate the incident. Addressing media persons, city police commissioner V Balakrishnan said, “Upon checking CCTV footage, we found one person, with his face covered with his shirt, picking up ornaments meticulously and walking out with a bag between 1.30 am and 3 am. He seems to be a resident of the locality, but his behaviour is different. The same-colour shirt that the intruder used during the robbery was found in the basement of the building. The showroom was renovated recently and some works are pending. We are investigating all angles.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) G Chandeesh said the store does not have a burglar alarm, and the security guards remained on the ground floor of the building. “The burglar apparently knew about this and entered the store through a small opening on the right side wall of the building. He climbed the steel frames between the wall and the false-wall for more than 20 feet and crawled horizontally for a few feet to reach the gap in the false ceiling. After the burglary, he escaped through the same route. He said the burglary was a risky attempt, as he climbed the steel frames by balancing his body between the narrow gap.
Chandeesh said only a few people, including the workers who were engaged in the false ceiling work during the renovation, knew about the gap in the false ceiling. “We are working to get the details of people involved in the renovation work,” he said, adding that though there were a lot of collections available, the intruder took time to choose the jewels like a customer.
According to police sources, one month of customer data and CCTV footage were collected to get a match of the suspect. Also, the foot and fingerprints were lifted from the spot. Sniffer dogs were also pressed into service.