Masked Men Rob 10 Kg Silver Jewels From Jewellery Shop

Hyderabad: The calm of a routine morning meeting at the Khazana Jewellers store at Chandanagar was shattered when an armed gang barged in and opened fire. The incident took place at around 10.35 am, which resulted in the injury to one of the staff members and the theft of 10-kg silver jewellery from the display counters. As per the price on Tuesday, 10-kg silver is worth over `12.5 lakh,

According to police, six unidentified masked persons entered the shop carrying three to four weapons, threatened employees and demanded keys to the safe. Staff members informed them that they did not have the keys. Enraged, the suspects grabbed silver ornaments from the display counter before fleeing on motorcycles within 10 minutes. Police suspect there may have been a seventh accomplice waiting outside.

Cyberabad commissioner Avinash Mohanty, who inspected the scene, said, “Deputy manager Satish Kumar suffered a bullet injury to his leg and was rushed to a private hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. Two shots were fired — one aimed at the deputy manager and another in the air. We recovered empty cartridges and are analysing them.”

Mohanty said that the Chandanagar police are investigating the case and have formed teams including the CCS and SOT teams working jointly.

Investigators suspected the gang used three or four motorcycles and may be part of an interstate network. There was another attempted robbery in Kukatpally, but at present, there appears to be no direct link. “We are probing all angles,” Mohanty said.

At the time of the incident, about 25 employees, including women, were present. Staff members, especially the women employees, reportedly resisted the assailants, preventing the robbery from escalating further. The exact value of the stolen silver ornaments is yet to be ascertained by the store management, but police confirmed that no gold was stolen.

The police commissioner formed multiple teams, collected CCTV footage, and is tracking possible escape routes. The investigation is ongoing to identify and apprehend the culprits.

One of the witnesses said that everyone wore double shirts, shoes, and carried pistols.

Suleman, an executive, said, “They all barged in concealing themselves with masks and helmets and were holding weapons. It was a group of six to seven members, and the incident took place at 10.40 am. They shot one person, who suffered injuries to his thigh. He was moved to a hospital and is under observation.”

Commenting on their non-professionalism, a source said, “An expert would want to complete the heist without chaos and leave the premises as soon as possible without drawing attention or getting caught. However, that was not the case. They did conduct reconnaissance and were aware of the timings when the staff would convene for a meeting and when the gold ornaments would be shifted from the safe to the display counters. The day was only lucky because the staff member responsible for the safe keys forgot them, and their plan was foiled. Otherwise, they planned to rob the jewellers exactly while the shift was taking place and get their hands on gold.”

Ten teams have been put to work, examining the CCTV footage, clues, and other technical details. The probe so far revealed that the accused were wearing double shirts, and two of them removed their shirts during their escape.

The source further said, “They adopted a diversion policy. One among them was heard talking in Telugu, while the rest spoke Hindi. However, there is also a possibility that he could be a resident near the state border. They were never seen on toll gates, only on service roads. They did not abandon the bikes but continued using them, and the bikes had no number plates. They were spotted at Medchal and later captured on camera at Patancheruvu. They are attempting to cross the state border.”