Titan jewellery heist: thieves land in cops’ net

The Sriperumbudur police have cracked the sensational burglary case in which a van carrying gold jewellery and diamonds worth Rs. 4 crore was stolen on the Chennai-Bangalore highway on Monday.

Following the arrest of two persons, the police have recovered 97 per cent of the 12.3 kg of stolen jewellery, which belonged to Titan’s jewellery division.

According to police, the driver of the van, Sathish (23) had pulled off the heist with his friend Murugan (35) of Hosur and three others.

Sathish had provided his accomplices with details about where the van would stop en route to Chennai from Hosur. He had also helped Murugan make a duplicate key of the van. The men decided to execute their plan on the afternoon of August 19, when the van would halt at a hotel in Mambakkam for lunch.

No sooner had the van stopped than a team headed by Murugan swung into action and stole the vehicle. They escaped with the booty after abandoning the van in Vadamangalam, police said.

Sathish, who at first pretended to be innocent, buckled under sustained interrogation on Tuesday night. He said Murugan had threatened him into parting with the van key.

Following this, a police team went to Hosur and arrested Murugan. Murugan revealed that the jewellery had been kept in a water sump at the house of their friend, Nagaraj, in Hosur, following which the team recovered the valuables.

The police are on the lookout for Nagaraj and the two others. Sathish and Murugan were remanded to custody and lodged in Puzhal prison.