70 Sovereigns of gold looted from pawn shop in Singanallur

Unidentified persons broke into a jewellery pawn shop in Singanallur and decamped with about 70 sovereigns of gold jewellery and 20 kg of silver articles on Saturday night. Police said Ramesh Kumar (48), who resides opposite the Coimbatore Corporation East Zone Office at Vasantha Nagar on Trichy Road near Singanallur, runs a pawn brokerage shop near his residence.
The house is located behind the shop, and pledged gold and silver articles of customers were kept in the premises. As the shop remained closed on account of Maha Shivaratri, Ramesh Kumar had locked both the shop and house and left with his family to his native place at Vellalur for temple worship.
Taking advantage of the absence of occupants, the miscreants allegedly broke open the rear shutter of the shop around 11 p.m., entered the premises and looted the valuables before fleeing. Ramesh Kumar, who returned home later in the night, was shocked to find the shutter damaged and the jewellery missing. He immediately alerted the Singanallur police. Crime Branch personnel and forensic experts rushed to the spot and conducted investigations.
A sniffer dog was pressed into service and is said to have trailed for a short distance, leading police to suspect that the culprits may have escaped in a vehicle. Police sources said the stolen items included around 70 sovereigns of gold jewellery and 20 kg of silver articles pledged by customers. CCTV footage from the surrounding area has been secured, and further investigation is under way to identify and apprehend the accused.