Aminabad jewellery showroom theft: Insider role suspected

LUCKNOW : Police suspect the role of an insider in the theft of jewellery and valuables worth lakhs of rupees from the showroom of Jugal Kishore Jewellers and Bankers, opposite the Jhandewala Park in crowded Aminabad market, on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

A senior police official privy to the initial investigation, on condition of anonymity, said the modus-operandi of the burglars hints the role of an insider who was familiar with each and every corner of the showroom and its entire functioning.

He said the burglars chose to enter the showroom by cutting the three iron doors at rooftop after reaching there from an adjoining building which is completely vacant.

Moreover, the burglars straightway landed in the strong room where ornaments and jewelry were safely kept, which also suggested that someone among them was familiar with the strong room positioning, he added.

The officer said the showroom owner Arvind Rastogi had told police that staffers employed as salesman were only allowed to enter the strong room and they were aware about its positioning. “Interestingly, a similar attempt to commit theft was also made at Jugal Kishore’s showroom at Mahanagar around a year ago and in a similar manner. The burglars had tried to break into the Mahanagar showroom by breaking iron doors using gas cutters. The gas cutter has also been used in the Aminabad incident,” he emphasised, adding, “An oxygen cylinder and a gas cutter were recovered from the strong groom.”

He said the police are preparing a list of all the employees who are associated with both the showrooms of Aminabad and Mahanagar. “We are trying to scan each and every staff manually as well as electronically to zero in on the suspects,” he explained. A gang of burglars had fled with valuables worth lakhs of rupees after breaking into the showroom. The Lucknow police and UP Special Task Force teams have been roped in to crack the case at the earliest.