Kerala man breaks into neighbour's house who was out for a wedding, steals ₹1 crore
According to the Police, the case was cracked with the help of CCTV footage and fingerprint evidence collected from the scene of the crime.
Kerala police on Monday solved a week-old case of theft of ₹1 crore and 300 sovereigns of gold from the house of a prominent trader in Kannur district. A neighbour has been arrested in connection with the heist.
The police took the accused into custody on Saturday by an investigation team constituted to probe the case, police said. He has been identified as 30-year-old Vijesh.
Vijesh works as a welder in the same locality as the trader. The stolen cash and ornaments were recovered from under a cot at his house, PTI reported.
According to the police, the case was cracked with the help of CCTV footage and fingerprint evidence collected from the scene of the crime.
CCTV visuals showed the accused returning to the same house the day after the theft, raising suspicions of the involvement of someone familiar with the household. Crucial evidence included a chisel found inside the house and fingerprints, police said.
The theft occurred while Ashraf, a rice trader, and his family were attending a wedding in Madurai on November 19.
They discovered the robbery upon returning home on November 24. The family then lodged a complaint with the police. One of the family's relatives told the media that money, gold, and other valuables were kept locked in a cupboard, and the key was kept in another room.
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The Investigation
Police suspected that the burglars entered the house by gas-cutting the iron grill of the kitchen window. Examination of the CCTV footage showed three persons scaling the compound to enter the house.
A team from Kerala's forensic department collected fingerprints and other evidence from the crime scene. Police then launched a widespread search to nab the accused.
A report from The Times of India said Kerala is seeing a surge in burglary cases linked to gangs from other states. While 192 such cases were reported in 2021, the number has surged to 519 in 2023. The police have arrested 1,325 people in connection with such cases, but recovering stolen gold remains a major challenge, the report said.
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