The curfew-like situation prevailing in the city with the closure of all entry and exit routes has helped the police nab the accused in the Friday’s gold theft case within a few hours.
Police said a worker in Sai Charan Jewellers, Vikram Kumar Lahor from Rajasthan, allegedly stole 7 kg of gold jewellery, 19 kg of silver ornaments and ₹42 lakh cash all worth ₹4 crore from the workshop being run in an apartment. However, he tied himself up later to create it as a robbery. He even made some cuts on his body to buttress his claim.
“Normally, robbers take the rail route to escape, or they will cross the city or district immediately in private vehicles or buses. As there were no train and bus services Vikram Kumar made a different plan,” said Police Commissioner B. Srinivasulu.
“The accused hid the booty in the same apartment and did not dare to come out. Otherwise, he might have fled the city,” a police officer said.
“As usual, my senior officers closed all the main thoroughfares and the State and National Highways and started checking vehicles at major junctions. But I grew suspicious of Vikram Kumar and started investigation at the spot,” said One Town CI P. Venkateswarlu.
“The simple injuries on Vikram Kumar, his pretence of unconsciousness and the CCTV footages confirmed that it was his handiwork,” Mr. Srinivasulu said.
Similar robbery
On June 11, 2017, a 12-member gang struck at a gold workshop at Governorpet here and escaped with 5 kg gold ornaments.
Police arrested all the gang members, hailing from West Bengal, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and recovered 4 kg jewellery. The last accused in the case was arrested on June 16 this year.
Police flew to Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and other places to nab the accused.