Avadi cops’ Rajasthan trip to secure jewel robbers ends in anti-climax

CHENNAI: Hours were spent scanning CCTV footage and a police team travelled all the way from Avadi to Rajasthan and caught two persons suspected to be behind a 'daring jewellery store heist' in Tirumullaivoyal, only to experience an anti-climax .It was the complainant who hired the two men to 'rob' him so that he could claim insurance payout while using the jewels to settle his debts, police learnt after securing the two men.

The complainant, S Ramesh Kumar (40), has been running Jothi Jewellers at Brindavan Nagar, Tirumullaivoyal for 16 years. According to his complaint, the robbery happened on the night of August 15.

He even gave vivid descriptions of the suspects to make his complaint believable.

"Two men, one tall, another short, came into my shop. They were wearing masks and claimed that they were carrying a gun and a knife. In panic, I threw a calculator at them after which one of them pushed me down and I suffered head injuries," he said in his complaint.

Ramesh further claimed that his hands and legs were tied up and one of them inflicted knife injuries on his hand after which he fell unconscious.

When he regained consciousness, he managed to untie himself and called for help after which the neighbouring shopkeepers and relatives rescued him and admitted him to a private hospital for treatment, he claimed.

The locker in his shop was broken open and the jewels - new and pawned by customers - were missing.

The officials from Tirumullaivoyal police station began investigations and formed a special team and went through CCTV footage in the neighbourhood and the mobile phone tower dumps from near the scene of the crime and zeroed in on the suspects.

Last week, a team went on the trail of the robbers and landed in a village in Beawar district in Rajasthan.

They secured the two men, Harshathkumar Bhat (39) and Surender Singh (35). The duo confessed to the robbery, but threw a googly at the cops, revealing that the complainant was in on the act.

The jewels they stole from the shop were imitation jewellery, which they dumped.

"The jeweller (Ramesh Kumar) had given them Rs 50,000 each as initial payment and promised them Rs 5 lakh each after he got the insurance payment," an investigating officer said.

After bringing the two accused on a transit warrant, Tirumullaivoyal police arrested Ramesh Kumar, too. All three of them were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.