The city police are on the lookout of an inter-State robber gang that have struck a couple of shops in city and deployed a unique modus operandi in stealing valuables from shops at night, especially in the wee hours.
Officials said the gang carried out its operations by pulling up the rolling shutters of shops while one of its members sneaked in to steel valuables. Though the gang was involved in theft cases reported in Thrissur and Ernakulam some years ago, the police suspect its role in two recent cases reported in Kochi.
Explaining the gang’s modus operandi, officials said the gang members would sleep on the verandah of shops in the guise of migrant workers. “They pull the rolling shutter as a group when no one is around. Rolling shutters that do not have lock in the centre will easily bent when a group of men use force together’’, said an official.
The police have also released photographs of the suspected gang members, all natives of Bihar, who have been absconding for the past several months.
In the first case, reported on September 13, burglars had targeted a watch company operating on MG Road and stolen watches worth Rs. 29 lakh. In the second case, a mobile shop operating at Vyttila was burgled by unknown persons on October 6 and mobiles worth around Rs 7 lakh were taken away.
The police have got a CCTV visual of a group of men leaving the place at night, probably after committing the theft. As the visual is not clear, the police have been unable to identify the group members.
