In a daredevil daylight theft, nearly one-and-a-half kg of gold jewellery worth nearly Rs.35 lakh was spirited away from one of the smaller jewellery shops in the heart of the town on Thursday afternoon, at the height of Uthradapachil on Onam eve.
The suspect’s image has been caught on CCTV and the police have launched a combing operation in the town.
The police said a medium-built man visited various shops at the municipal shopping complex in the heart of the town on Thursday afternoon.
Financial help
He arrived with a notice for financial help and acted as if he was hearing and speech impaired.
Around 2.35 p.m., when he tried to enter the jewellery shop Arun Mariya Gold, functioning from room seven of the complex, only one salesman was present who asked the man not to enter the room since the owner, Arun Markose, had gone for lunch.
The shop, dealing in second-hand jewellery, did not have big showcases but kept the gold in a small box, opened only to show the patrons.
The man, however, came back and showed the notice to the salesman and strategically placed other papers on top of the small box carrying gold. When he left the room, he took the box covered with the papers. The salesman came to know of it only later and immediately informed the owner and the police.
Mr. Markose said 1,349.2 gm gold jewellery was inside the box when it was stolen. The box contained necklaces, lockets, chains, and bangles.
