The Hindu : Front Page : Jewel thieves strike again in Hyderabad

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Jewel thieves strike again in Hyderabad

Staff Reporter

Gold and jewels worth Rs. 9 crores taken away from Joy Alukkas showroom

JEWEL THEFT: A view of the Alukkas jewellery shop in Hyderabad after it was looted on Monday night. — PHOTO: P.V. Sivakumar

HYDERABAD: In a major heist that left the city police baffled, burglars took away gold and jewels worth over Rs. 9 crores from the high-profile jewellery shop, Joy Alukkas, at Panjagutta on Monday night.

The biggest-ever looting reported in the twin cities that left many a red face among the police was noticed on Tuesday morning.

The fourth such major burglary in jewellery shops in the last two months in the State capital was committed at a stone's throw away from the Panjagutta police station and a kilometre away from the Chief Minister's official residence.

A mark of professionalism was evident in the simplest modus operandi employed. The intruders, believed to be more than two, broke open the lock on the iron shutter near the staircase.

The police believe the burglars could have entered from the terrace of the shop building on the bustling Somajiguda - Panjagutta `Gold Street', where many jewellery shops are located. It is surmised that the burglars might have jumped onto the terrace from the neighbouring hotel.

Karp House, the four-storeyed building which houses the Alukkas on ground and first floors, has an open staircase on the terrace. Burglars walked down to the first floor where the shutter was broken open to enter the shop. Then it was a literal cakewalk for them.

The other possibility of entry, the police argue, was that they got onto the terrace using a rope which was already there tied to a pillar on the terrace of Karp House. The strong rope was tied by some workers erecting a hoarding of the jewellery shop.

Gold ornaments weighing 103 kg and diamonds worth Rs. 40 crores were there in the strong room and in the showcases. "Thieves did not touch the strong room but took away 23 kg gold and diamonds, all worth over Rs. 9 crores, from the showcases by breaking the glasses," Amit Garg, DCP of West Zone, told reporters.

The three security guards, one of them armed with a revolver, were on duty but on the front side. The secret cameras in the shop could record only faint images of two persons of lean built since the lights were switched off.

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