‘Spicy’ robbery: 1 minute, 2.7kg gold worth Rs1 crore

A day after a duo robbed Chemmanur Jewellers in Dasarahalli by blinding everbody in the showroom by using a pepper spray, it has come to light that the value of the booty is about Rs1 crore.

Two miscreants had raided the jewellery shop on Ayyappa Swamy Road at 8pm on Wednesday. They had emptied a can of pepper spray in the showroom, as a result of which every one there was temporarily blinded.

They had left the showroom with the booty within a minute of entering it and fled on their motorcycle. It turns out that in that one minute, they managed to make away with 2.7kg gold, worth about Rs1 crore.

An investigating officer said this is the first incident he has come across wherein pepper spray has been used to execute a heist. He added that the spray causes so much irritation to the eye that when the police arrived at the spot a few minutes after the robbery on Wednesday, even the policemen were not able to open their eyes.

The duo had injured three persons on Wednesday. One of them—Suji, 30, cashier of the jewellery shop—has been admitted to Mallya Hospital for treatment. The other two who were injured
are Sreejith, 28, and Ambarish, 50, the showroom’s watchman.
They underwent treatment at the hospital OPD. The duo injured Ambarish when they entered the showroom. They hit Suji with shock absorbers of a motorcycle. They hit Sreejith, a showroom employee, on his hand.

A police officer said only one of the miscreants was carrying shock absorber and pepper spray. He said there were about 15 persons in the shop and they could have easily overpowered the culprits had they shown a bit of courage.

After hitting Sreejith, the duo emptied the can of pepper spray in the jewellery shop. They had brought a bag, which they filled with
the jewellery that was on display.

The police said that as per the jewellery shop employees, about 35 gold chains and more than five necklaces, studded with pearls and diamonds, are missing.

The police have formed six teams to nab the robbers. Teams have been sent to neighbouring districts of Tumkur, Mandya and Mysore for investigation. Some teams have been sent to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. All district and state police officers have been told to inform Bangalore police if they find anyone trying to sell a large amount of gold jewellery.

The high price of gold is making culprits target jewellery shops and women wearing gold. Currently, a gram of 24-carat gold costs Rs2,910 and a gram of 22-carat gold costs Rs2,700 in Bangalore.