WHODUNNIT: Station House Officer of Mahankali police station Narayana in a pensive mood outside the jewellery shop which was burgled in Secunderabad after Tuesday midnight.

HYDERABAD: Thieves broke into a jewellery shop at General Bazaar in Secunderabad, some 250 yards away from Mahankali police station, and took away `huge' quantity of gold ornaments after Tuesday midnight.

Confusion prevailed over the stolen jewellery's value as owner of the Marpally Manik Rao jewellery shop M.P. Srinivas could not furnish exact details. Initially, he told the police that there was about 10 kg of gold jewellery in the shop. But, jewellery weighing 6.5 kg was found intact in the shop's almirah and table drawers.

"The shop owner himself is confused. He is working out the details," said Mahankali ACP Ranjit Singh. Located in an old building, the shop has a goldsmith's shop on the rear side with a single brick wall in between. The burglars broke open the door lock of the goldsmith's shop, made a hole in the wall and sneaked inside the jewellery shop.

The burglars dug the circular hole in the middle of a shelf. "Because of the shelf, the wall's thickness was reduced to a few inches and this made the job of the burglars easier," Additional Commissioner Tejdeep Kaur Menon said. Two crowbars and a pair of hand gloves were recovered from the shop. Some finger and footprints were also collected from the spot.

Sniffer dogs

Sniffer dogs led the police team up to the CMR showroom building located about 500 yards away. Three private watchmen — all aged above 55 years — were in-charge of the security of the area having mostly jewellery and goldsmith shops. Around midnight, Gandaiah, a watchman, went around the building. The goldsmith's shop was found locked then.

But, Gandaiah was surprised to see the lock removed when he went for the second round three hours later.

He pushed open the door only to see the hole on the wall and informed a local who in turn alerted the police. City Police Commissioner V. Dinesh Reddy, CLUES team and experts from the Fingerprints Bureau visited the shop.

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