Following a tip-off on Wednesday, Hyderabad police detected the theft of gold jewellery weighing 7.76 kilos and Rs. 21 lakh cash committed three months ago in Chennai, with the arrest of two persons.
The entire stolen jewellery worth Rs. 2.25 crore and Rs. 19 lakh in cash were recovered from Champalal Rajpurohith and Nagender Singh.
Wins trust
The seized property and the accused were handed over to the Chennai police since they were investigating into the theft case, the Hyderabad Central Crime Station DCP L.K.V. Ranga Rao said at a press conference.
Twenty-six-year-old Champalal from Rajasthan had been working with Mohanlal Jewellery in Chennai for the past three years. With his proactive conduct, he won the confidence of his employers in a short period and became their close confidant.
Trusting him, the shop owners began sending him for delivery of gold ornaments to retailers and for collecting money from them.
While carrying huge quantities of gold jewellery and cash, Champalal thought of stealing the same to realise his long cherished dream of setting up his own jewellery shop in Ahmedabad.
He sought the help of his childhood friend Singh. The duo shared the plan with their common friend Pukraj.
“It was part of duty for Champalal to collect unsold gold jewellery, and payments from retailers from different cities. On March 25, Champalal went to Madurai and collected gold ornaments weighing 7.76 kilos and Rs. 21 lakh from clients,” said Mr. Rao.
As per the plan, he handed over the jewellery and cash to his aides Singh and Pukraj waiting at the Madurai bus stop. Later, he boarded a Chennai-bound bus and on reaching the city, he cooked up a story of thieves cutting his suitcase and taking away the jewellery and cash. He also lodged a complaint with the local police.
While his employers didn’t suspect his complicity, he managed to convince the Chennai police that it was a genuine case of theft.
Champalal and Singh came to the city to dispose of the jewellery and checked into a lodge when alerted by an informant, the Hyderabad Police Commissioner formed a special team led by CCS Inspector P. Venkatagiri, who tracked the accused and caught them.
