A youth who robbed over 62 tolas of gold ornaments and cash from his neighbour’s house was arrested, and 56 tolas of gold and Rs.70,000 cash were recovered from him by the city police.
Giving details to the media on Thursday, Police Commissioner B. Shivadhar Reddy said the accused, M. Srinivasa Rao Naidu (27), of Srikakulam district was staying at Jashuva Nagar at Kancharapalem. He was employed as a casual labourer at the Container Corporation of India office near Old Post Office. Complainant D.V.V. Satyanarayana (47) is a Junior Engineer in the Railways and his wife was an employee in the Visakhapatnam Port.
On December 13 last year, the complainant’s house was burgled in broad daylight when Mr. Satyanarayana and his wife left for their respective offices and his two daughters went to college.
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On returning home in the afternoon, the elder daughter found the bedroom door lock cut with a hacksaw blade and the gold ornaments missing from the almirah. She informed the matter to her father and he lodged a complaint with the Fifth Town Police.
During the course of investigation, the police found that the accused had purchased a hacksaw blade recently and was absconding. The use of a hacksaw blade and the ‘unprofessional’ work made the police realise that the burglary was done by a first time thief. The accused, being a neighbour and family friend of Mr. Satyanarayana, used to visit the latter’s house regularly and run errands for them. He was aware of the presence of gold ornaments in the house.
Srinivasa Rao got duplicate keys made for the main gate grills and main door and gained entry into the house when the inmates were away. He cut the bedroom lock with a hacksaw blade and stole the ornaments from the almirah, which was not locked. He locked the house and left after committing the crime. He had concealed part of the jewellery inside the TV set and exchanged some of it at a gold showroom in the city.
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Mr. Shivadhar Reddy said that Kancharapalem inspector B. Mohana Rao arrested the accused based on information received on Wednesday evening. He commended the CI and his team, comprising SI A. Satya Rao, police constables Prakasa Rao, Laxmana Rao, and Santosh Kumar, for their hard work. DCP (L&O) Shemushi Bajpai, Additional DCP (Crime) S. Varada Raju, and ACP (North) C.M. Naidu were present.