A day after the heist in which two unidentified men attacked a car and fled with 20 kg of gold worth ₹6 crore in the Edayar industrial area, the police are probing the conspiracy angle since they find it hard to believe that a robbery of such a scale could be pulled off without prior planning or knowledge about the movement of the precious metal.
The gold, in melted form, belonging to a couple of major jewellers had been kept in two boxes in the car and the robbers left behind a box containing 5 kg of gold during the attack that took place on Thursday at 9.57 p.m.
The car was attacked in front of CGR Metalloys, a gold refining firm, at Edayar when it halted while waiting for the security guard to open the gate.
The police believe that the assailants were hiding under the cover of night waiting for the right moment but remain unconvinced by the nature of their assault.
The four employees of the firm carrying the gold were not brutally targeted nor was the car reduced to a pulp except for its windows being smashed, said police sources.
The firm engaged in melting and enhancing the purity of old gold ornaments bought by jewellers had been functioning for the last quarter of a century, said the police.
Even the police were not aware of the presence of such a firm in the area, which gave credence to the opinion that prior planning might have gone into the robbery.
Set pattern
It has emerged that there was a set pattern to the movement of gold to the firm. It used to be transferred along the same route between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.
The police have taken the statements of the occupants of the car. “We are verifying their versions while also looking into many details, numbers and other facts. We are not taking anything for face value, including their versions.
Fingerprints received from the crime scene are being looked into. It is, however, premature to reveal whether it was pre-planned,” a senior police officer told The Hindu .
It is learnt that a special investigation squad led by Additional SP M.S. Sojan has been formed for probing the case.
The police have received CCTV footage of the assailants fleeing on their motorcycle, the registration number of which, though, was blurred.
The police are in the process of recording the statements of the employees of the two offices of the firm in the district.
Expanding the probe beyond the district has not been ruled out yet.
