The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Rs. 1.2 cr. worth gold jewellery stolen

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 05, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Rs. 1.2 cr. worth gold jewellery stolen

Staff Reporter

Burglars gain entry after making a hole on the rear side wall of the shop

Police feel burglars were familiar with shop’s topography
Gold jewellery, silver articles on display untouched

Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

PROFESSIONAL JOB: A portion of the wall wherein the burglars had made a hole to gain entry into the jewellery shop.

HYDERABAD: Thieves took away gold jewellery and silver articles worth over Rs. 1.2 crore after digging a hole on the rear side wall of a jewellery shop at Siddiamber Bazar in the city on Tuesday night.

Described as one of the biggest in the State capital in recent times, the heist that shocked the business community in the bustling Begum Bazar area came to light when the Sri Laxmi Venkateshwara Jewellers was opened around 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday. The shop is located in two shutters on the ground floor of Kishanji Hospital building.

There is a staircase on the rear side of the shutters that opens into the backyard of the hospital used by the attendants of the patients coming to the hospital. The space beneath the staircase leads to the rear side of the shop’s shutter where the iron chest used for storing jewellery is kept.

“Possibly, the burglars entered the backyard by jumping over an unused old gate,” Abids ACP P.V.G. Vijay Kumar said. Though the hospital building had two watchmen, they stood guard at the main entrance.

The fact that burglars dug a hole exactly at the base of the wall that led them directly to the iron chest suggested that the offenders knew the topography of the building and the shop as well. The one-and-half-a-feet long and one feet wide oval shaped hole was enough for a lean man to pass through.

‘Gutkha’ packets

Investigators found four ‘gutkha’ packets at the scene and spit stains of the chewed ‘gutkha’. They believe the offenders spent nearly two to three hours digging the hole. While the entire jewellery and silver articles were taken away from the iron chest, surprisingly, the offenders did not touch the nearly Rs. 3 lakh gold jewellery on display.

Even the huge silver articles and ornaments in the other showcases remained intact. The thieves attempted to break open another iron chest in which nearly Rs. 3 lakh worth gold jewellery was kept.

Second time

In 1993 too, burglars had struck at this shop and took away nearly three kg of gold jewellery.

The heist remained unsolved.

But the thieves then entered the shop by breaking the locks of the shutter in the front. After this sensational burglary, all the traders in the area had built iron grills before the shutters.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh