Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Burglars target pawnbroker shops

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI April 18. Two pawnbroker shops were targeted by burglars in separate incidents in the city and outskirts, in which gold jewellery and cash totally worth over Rs. 30 lakhs were reportedly stolen.

Burglars gained entry into a pawnbroker's shop at Meppadu in Selaiyur and removed a huge steel trunk box containing gold jewellery and silver articles. The culprits took the box to a nearby open ground and broke it open. They removed the gold jewellery and escaped. The shop owner, Rupaji, said ``the total value of the lost property was over Rs. 25 lakhs. The box also contained some cash''.

In the other incident, burglars entered a pawnbroker shop at Thiruvottiyur by making an opening in the weak brick wall on the rear side. They took all jewels kept in the showcase. The jewels kept in a safety locker were left untouched.

The shop owner's son said apart from the jewels Rs. 50,000 in cash kept in the counter was stolen. Some relatives said the stolen jewellery was over 80 sovereigns.

In another crime incident, a youth who attempted to snatch a cash bag from a woman outside a bank in Adyar this morning was caught after a chase by the public and handed over to the police.

According to eyewitnesses, the youth grabbed the bag and tried to flee. However, the woman raised an alarm and a crowd gathered. As those who came to her rescue feared the youth might be armed, they threw stones at him and forced the culprit to surrender. He was then handed over to the Adyar police.

In yet another incident, cash totalling Rs. 1.25 lakhs was reportedly stolen from a pharmaceutical shop at Perumal Mudali Street in Elephant Gate. The burglary came to light this morning.

The shop owner, C.B. Kothari, in his complaint stated that the culprits cut open nine locks and then removed the cash from his table.

The police said special teams had been formed to trace the culprits.

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