An unidentified person trespassed into a room of a top city hotel, occupied by a couple from Canada, and made away with $4,000 from the safe.

Mano Pancharathnam and his wife Kavitha Kanagasurya were staying at the hotel since last week. On Friday, the couple went out and on their return, were shocked to see their personal effects scattered about the room. They called the hotel staff and the security personnel for assistance. Following a complaint from the hotel’s management, the crime investigation wing of the Royapettah police, led by inspector Malarkodi, reached the spot and began investigating.

The police scrutinised CCTV camera footage from the hotel and found that a stranger was trying to swipe an access card to open the door of the room in question. He sought assistance from an attendant, saying his key card was not functioning. Taking him at his word, the attendant used his access card, opened the room and left the place.

The suspect entered the room and attempted to open the safe inside. Since he was not able to, he called a manager at the reception using the intercom and asked for assistance. The manager opened the safe using his key without getting permission from his superior, as per protocol.

After the manager left, the suspect collected the foreign currency from the safe and went through the baggage looking for valuables. He took the booty and walked out of the hotel.

The hotel management, on behalf of the guests, lodged a complaint with the police. The police has constituted special teams and began looking for the suspect.