Cops crack ECR burglary, arrest gang from Nepal
Police said the driver learned about their absence and alerted the gang who executed the plan.
The police team with the accused who were arrested for stealing gold and diamond worth several crores
CHENNAI: A man, who was engaged as an acting driver by the occupants of a bungalow on East Coast Road (ECR), ‘guided’ a gang of dacoits from Nepal that broke into the house last week and stole jewellery worth several crores and cash.
Police claimed they have recovered 90 per cent of the stolen property and arrested three persons from Nepal, who were allegedly involved in similar burglaries across the country.
The house owners, Brajesh Kumar, a dry flower exporter, and his wife Amrita, were on a business trip to Germany at the time of the burglary. Police said the driver learned about their absence and alerted the gang who executed the plan.
The arrested persons also included the acting driver, Prakash Khadka (30) of Nepal, who has been living in the city for more than a decade. The other two, Manoj Masi (41) and Janak Prasad Jaishi (28) from Kailali district in Nepal, were planning to escape with the loot to Nepal.
“Prakash’s role was to observe and inform the gang which was involved in similar break-ins across the country,” said a senior police officer. He was engaged as an acting driver by Brajesh Kumar’s family last August.
On January 30 morning, the domestic help of the bungalow on Olive Beach, Injambakkam, called the couple’s relatives and informed them about the break-in. Amrita’s brother Amit Kumar Aggarwal rushed there and alerted the Neelankarai police.
“The accused had gained entry by breaking open the door near the swimming pool and then got access to the safes in the bedroom,” said an official. A couple of safes were found in an empty plot near the house.
According to the complainant, the missing valuables included diamond jewellery sets, gold and diamond bangles, bracelets, silver articles and Rs 7 lakh in cash.
After narrowing down the list of suspects, the police picked up Prakash and confirmed his association with the burglars, as there were conversation records of him speaking with one of the suspects, whose prints were taken from the scene.
Manoj and Janak were involved in similar cases in Bengaluru and Thane and were arrested there, police said. Police teams were sent across the country, including to the Nepal border, to arrest the others.
“We used both traditional policing methods and modern technological aids to trace the suspects and ascertain their location,” said Assistant Commissioner (Tiruvanmiyur) A Bharath, who led the team of close to 80 personnel who pursued multiple leads to trace the accused.
They were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.