Bangalore: 36-kg Gold Heist from Jewellery Shop in Broad Daylight

PTI and TOI inputs
Pics by Akash Poojari Polali
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (MB)

• Robbery took place around 10-45 am
• The gang consisted of young persons
• They entered the outlet posing as genuine customers
• The shop had just opened for business for the day

Bangalore, Aug 12: A six-member gang on Saturday decamped with 36 kg of gold and silver jewellery and Rs two lac in cash from a reputable jewellery shop in Bangalore city.

The culprits, all in their teens, conversing in Hindi and English entered the Chemmanur Jewelry Pvt Ltd's shop located in Banaswadi area at about 1040 hrs, couple of minutes after the shop opened, police said.

Fingerprint experts at Chemmanur Jewelry at Kammanahalli in Banaswadi police limits in Bangalore  where dacoity took place on Saturday.
 
 
Fingerprint experts at Chemmanur outlet
 

A view of the outlet

The gang members enquired about some gold jewellery, posing as customers and then brandished pistols at workers, threatened them and bundled them into a room.

Later they took away gold, silver jewellery and cash from the cash box and made good their escape in a car by which they had travelled.

Deputy commissioner of police B Krishna Singh told PTI the police have got clues about the culprits from closed circuit TV camera which recorded the entire operation that lasted 20 minutes.

The total loss, by modest estimates, has been placed at Rs 3 crors

TOI excerpts

This is the biggest jewellery heist yet in the city. The well-dressed gang members entered the Chemmanur Jewellers outlet, one of the 15 owned by the chain, around 10.45 a.m. and threatened the nine employees at gunpoint before fleeing with the loot.

Joint commissioner of police (Crime) Gopal B. Hosur said the four turned up when the store, located in Meeta Residency, had just opened for the day. Brandishing their revolvers, they herded the employees into a room and stashed the gold jewellery and the cash into a gunny bag. They did not touch the silver articles. “It was all over in half an hour,” Mr. Hosur said.

A security guard at Meeta Residency, who was reluctant to give his name, said he saw some men drive off in a car. “I saw some persons going in a cement-coloured car around 11.15 a.m. when I was approaching my cabin after attending to a resident’s call. I could not write down the registration number,” he said.

Based on his statement, the police are investigating whether the gang did come by car. “We are working on some clues. We will be successful in tracking down the suspects,” . Hosur said.

The police viewed the footage of two of the four CCTVs in the shop which shows the robbers in the act. “We are not sure of the type of revolvers used by them,”  Hosur said.

Incidentally, the store employs a security guard only at night.