After sneaking inside Tanishq showroom on the bustling Punjagutta-Somajiguda main road through a hole drilled silently, the burglar moved inside for nearly one-and-half-hour in the early hours of Saturday.
The two security guards on duty at the showroom’s front side were apparently unaware of the ‘lean’ thief moving slowly and quietly inside, collecting one ornament after the other.
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The video footage recorded by the secret cameras indicated that the burglar entered at 2.37 a.m. He was there till 4 a.m. Immediately after stepping inside the showroom, the intruder switched off the lights.
Apparently, he didn’t want the spy cameras to catch his image, the police said. There were nearly 7,500 different gold ornaments and articles in the showroom shelves.
After staying inside for 82 minutes, he collected around 850 items.
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“Since the lights went out, a correct image of the offender could not be secured. All that we could figure out is that the guy was using a small torchlight to move inside,” the investigators said.
A police officer surmised that probably more jewellery would have been stolen had the offenders entered soon after midnight. He left the place since it was already 4 a.m. and movement of milk vans and other people begin in the area a little later, an investigator remarked.
In some jewellery shops, the ornaments are shifted to the strong room after the closing hours for security reasons. This was not so in Tanishq showroom, the police said.
Not leaving anything to chance, the investigators are pursuing different angles. The possibility of some insiders tipping the gang of burglars about the point where to drill a hole is being verified.
How the security guards failed to notice the gang managing to reach the rear side of the showroom through the narrow passage is under investigation.
Investigators believe members of the gang definitely moved around the showroom or passed by the road frequently as part of doing a reconnaissance of the locality.
Hoping to find leads, they are collecting video footage recorded by cameras installed at different shops on either side of and opposite Tanishq showroom and examining them to narrow down on suspects.