The city police have cracked the major gold robbery case reported in November last year at Amar Jewellers along the busy NSB Road, by arresting a North-Indian at Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh.
On the confession of Mohan Singh, who was nabbed by a special team on Friday, one out of the 40 kilograms of the looted gold jewellery was recovered from the possession of Sowrath Sharma, owner of Dinesh Chandra and Sons Jewellery Mart, Sardhar Harama Bazaar, Meerut. The accused was brought to Tiruchi by air and produced before the court of the first Judicial Magistrate before being remanded in judicial custody.
On the morning of November 5, the locks of the jewellery shop's shutters were found replaced with new ones. Based on a complaint by the owner of Amar Jewellers, the shop was opened by a police team in the presence of a forensic expert. The worth of 5,000 soveriegn gold jewellery was estimated at Rs.10 crore. Cash amounting to Rs.3 lakh was also found missing.
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During preliminary investigations, the police learnt that the cameras had been switched off and that the shop had no burglar alarms or watchmen. Initially, the investigators had second thoughts about the claims of the complainant, as the modus operandi was perplexing.
However, as the investigations progressed, the involvement of Mohan Singh, his accomplice Bhool Singh, and 12 others came to light. The accused had replaced the locks to cause confusion and delay the investigations, and make good their escape. For, had the shop been found broken open, the police would have sprung to action and foiled the gang's escape plan, said Assistant Commissioner of Police, Fort Crime Range, Sivakumar.
The new locks were found to have been purchased in Tiruchi, said Mr. Sivakumar, who led the special team along with anther ACP Mohan of Cantonment Crime Range. Crime Inspectors Balakumaran and Anbuselvan attached to Fort and Gandhi Market station were also in the investigating team supervised by the Deputy Commissioner of Police – Crime and Traffic, S. Ramaiyan. The team on the trail of the rest of the accused nurses hopes that their revelations could lead to solving several other cases.
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