Jaipur, 20 November: In a daring early-morning robbery in Jaipur’s historic jewellery district, masked assailants broke into a showroom located in the ground floor of the Siddhi Vinayak Apartment complex on Haldiyon Ka Rasta, Johari Bazaar, and made off with an estimated 30 to 40 kg of silver goods in under 10 minutes.
The incident occurred at around 2:15 am, when three men on a motorcycle first forced open a channel-gate of the neighbouring building, entered via a broken grill and reached the showroom, according to police statements.
Once inside, the robbers sprayed black paint on CCTV cameras installed outside the shop, broke eight locks of the jewellery showroom and one shutter lock, then filled a sack with silver items. They dragged the sack out to the motorcycle and fled within minutes.
During the break-in, three guards were assaulted and held hostage by the robbers. Two of the guards, hearing noise, were attacked and their mobile phones thrown away. A third guard, who arrived in response, was beaten and locked in a washroom. The guards managed to free themselves around 4:30 am and alerted the police.
The targeted showroom belongs to jeweller Vinod Agarwal, a resident of Lal Kothi, and is among six jewellery showrooms in the same complex. Police believe the robbers had conducted prior surveillance and knew the layout, including the guard’s sleeping quarters.
Though the suspects disabled external cameras with paint, interior and neighbouring CCTV footage captured the robbers filling crates with silver ornaments and dragging them out. Investigating officers said they have analysed footage from multiple nearby cameras, but no arrests have been made yet.
The exact value of the stolen items is still under calculation, as the shop owner has yet to submit a detailed inventory of losses. With the crime taking place barely 700 metres from the Manak Chowk police station, the boldness of the heist has raised concerns in the jewellery trading community.