The Trichy branch of the popular Jewelry chain Lalathaa Jewellery was burgled during the wee hours of Wednesday morning, with two masked men having entered via a hole drilled in the rear wall and having decamped with several kgs of ornaments. As employees opened the store at around 9am, the mannequins and display shelves in the diamond and gold section were found to be empty. 


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The showroom is located near the busy Chathram bus stand in the city. On getting to know about the burglary, a team led by city Police Commissioner A Amalraj rushed to the spot and inspected the showroom and its vicinity.


Police investigation based on CCTV footage from the store indicated that the burglary had taken place between 2am and 4 am, when two men wearing hooded jackets, face masks, and hand gloves had entered the ground floor of the store carrying duffel bags. The footage had also captured the men emptying the valuables into their bags. The men were seen with their faces covered with dog and cat masks.


It has been understood that the burglars gained entry into the store by drilling a hole into the rear-side wall on the ground floor, which was adjoining a small parcel of empty land, separated by a compound wall. 


The robbers had reportedly spread chilli powder across the crime scene, in order to apparently confuse the sniffer dogs. The Trichy district police has formed seven special teams to nab the burglars. Besides examining CCTV footage of the crime scene and the locality, the cops had also reportedly sought guest lists of lodges and hotels in the vicinity.


Lalithaa Jewellery, Managing Director Kiran Kumar told reporters that gold, diamond and platinum ornaments worth Rs 13 crore were stolen.