Thieves loot Mumbai jewellery store through hole in wall, cops think it’s an inside job

Mumbai city news: The thieves enter the jewellery shop by drilling a hole from the store next door, steal jewellery on display but don’t touch a safe full of gold

A group of thieves enter a jewellery shop by drilling a hole from the store next door, steal jewellery kept on display but don’t touch a safe full of gold, and they do so when the CCTV cameras were switched off — all on a night of heavy rain. They also leave behind their tools.

The Palghar police feel something doesn’t add up and are now probing if the theft could be an inside job.

The shop from where the thieves drilled the hole had been closed for three months. They entered through the back room of the jewellery shop and stole Rs8.5 lakh worth of jewellery, while leaving behind the Rs20 lakh worth of gold kept in an iron safe. The CCTV cameras were switched off since July 5.

Inspector Kiran Kabadi of the Palghar police said they used an iron rod, screwdriver and other small weapons to break the wall and entered the shop through the same hole. “But they left behind their weapons,” Kabadi said.

The police said there are several loopholes, from the switched off cameras to the heist being timed when the store’s owner was hospitalised.