Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Feb 8: In broad daylight, thieves rigged a hole in the wall of Gulab Jewellers in Bhavanthi Street in the city and took away gold ornaments arranged in the display showcases weighing 1.8 kg worth Rs 40 lacs.

The theft was committed when the shop was closed during lunch hours between 2 pm and 4 pm on Saturday February 7. Gulab Jewellers functions in a very old building opposite Roopavani Talkies in the city.

The owners and staff of the jewellery store had left at 2 pm and come back at 4, to find to their shock that the shop had been burgled. The walls of the rooms on the backside and northern side of the shop have crashed to the ground, having been dilapidated and out of use. These rooms have roofs in the form of wooden planks, and homeless people sleep there at night.

The thieves entered through the northern side room, reached the room on the rear side of the jewellery shop, and easily opened a hole in the wall of the shop that is made of mud and tiles. The police feel that the thieves would have done the work of rigging a hole partially the previous night, to come back on Saturday afternoon and complete the balance work.

After a complaint was made by Manjunath Sanu from Mannagudda,owner of Gulab Jewellers, about the theft, Bunder station in-charge police inspector, T D Nagaraj, police sub-inspector, Madan, and officials of Kadri and Pandeshwar police stations visited the spot and undertook investigation. Finger print experts and sniffer dogs were also summoned.

It is gathered that although the jewellery shop is equipped with closed circuit television cameras, they had been switched off during the period the shop was locked during lunch hours.