More than 4500 sovereigns of gold jewellery, weighing around 35 kg and valued at over Rs. 50 crore, were stolen from a Tanishq jewellery showroom in the Nehru Nagar area near the Palanganatham railway bridge in Madurai.
The showroom, the third Tanishq outlet in the city, had opened about two weeks ago ahead of the Deepavali festival, although construction work at the rear of the building was still incomplete.
The theft is suspected to have taken place between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Thursday. More than five unidentified persons are suspected to have entered the premises using the iron scaffolding and wooden structures erected for the ongoing construction work.
The theft came to light when employees opened the showroom in the morning and found jewellery display trays and other materials scattered. A subsequent inspection revealed that several display racks had been emptied.
Madurai City Police Commissioner Rajendran and police personnel visited the showroom and began an investigation. Sniffer dogs and forensic experts were deployed to collect clues and fingerprints. Police also seized CCTV footage and began questioning employees and examining the movement of suspicious persons and vehicles in the surrounding area.
Commissioner Rajendran said around 30 per cent of the gold stocked in the showroom had been stolen. Five special teams have been formed to trace the suspects and recover the jewellery.
