Masked man walked away with seven gold coins and figurines, all in a matter of 10 minutes
Photograph for representational purposes only. (Photo: DC)
Chennai: A masked man picked the lock of a glass cabinet near the altar of the historic St Thomas Church at St Thomas Mount in broad daylight on Monday and walked away with seven gold coins and figurines, all in a matter of 10 minutes.The gold coins on display are offered by devotees and are usually turned into thalis to give to couples during mass marriages held once in a year. The police are browsing through the video clippings taken from the 20 surveillance cameras in the mountain-top church looking for more clues about the break in, the first in the history of the 492-year-old church.
A sister at the church noticed the burglary in the evening and informed the church manager who then informed the police. A team from the St Thomas Mount police station rushed to the spot. “We could see only a man covering his face with clothes walking away after taking away the valuables,” the police said after going through the video clippings. “It happened in a short span of 10 minute when the security in-charge had gone for his lunch and the maintenance staff was not there. We are going to increase the security personnel and cameras will be in place,” said Parish priest G. Kristhuraj, when contacted.
Monday's burglary has come as a shock for the church authorities and devotees. On Tuesday, though the lock was replaced on the glass cabinet, the breach in the place of worship was still a talking point. The missing gold coins weighed around 30 gm and were valued at Rs 80,000, police said. The burglar left behind 17 gold coins and figurines. "Maybe he was in a hurry," the police said.
"It is alarming that such an incident has happened in broad daylight and there needs to be more security personnel in place,' said K. Biju, a shopkeeper and a devotee who offers prayer daily.
Church authorities feel that stringent security measures need to be in place and more security personnel and CCTV cameras will be in place in the future. At present, the church has 29 maintenance staff including the security personnel. There are 20 cameras installed in the church premises, which records nearly 1,000 devotees offering prayers daily.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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