In a major heist, burglars looted gold ornaments weighing five kilograms, 50 kg of silver articles, and Rs.10 lakh in cash from a jewellery shop at Thuraiyur, about 45 km away from here, on Saturday night.
Hours after the burglary was reported, the police recovered 30 kilograms of silver articles kept inside an abandoned bag which was found a few distance from the scene of crime.
The jewellery shop forms part of a house owned by Aiyyappan, who was away when the crime took place.
The jewellery, cash and silver articles taken away by the culprits were all kept inside the bureau in one of the rooms of the house where Aiyappan’s aged parents are staying.
The burglars gained entry into the house from the rear by scaling the compound wall and managed to get hold of the bureau key and decamped with gold jewellery, silver articles and cash, police said.
The offence came to light on Sunday morning when the parents of Aiyappan found the valuables missing from the bureau. The jewellery shop has been functioning in Thuraiyur for several years now.
Police sources said Aiyappan, who was also running a chit fund business in the same place, had left for Tiruchi on Saturday night to meet his wife and children after locking the jewellery shop.
On receipt of information, the Superintendent of Police, Perambalur, T.K. Rajasekaran, holding additional charge as Superintendent of Police of Tiruchi, and senior police officers inspected the crime scene and conducted enquiries.
Eight special police teams have been formed to crack the case with three of them headed by officers in the rank of deputy superintendents of police, SP Rajasekaran told The Hindu over the telephone.
Finger print experts lifted some prints from the spot. A sniffer dog was also brought in to track the escape route of the culprits.
Going by the manner in which the offence has been committed, it appears that it could have been done by more than two culprits, Mr.Rajasekaran said.
