Thieves decamp with gold, silver ornaments from Siliguri shop

Siliguri: Thieves decamped with nearly 30 kilograms of silver and 200 grams of gold ornaments from a jewellery shop located on Hill Cart Road. The incident came to light on Sunday morning when the store was opened, the shop owner said.

Owner Nirmal Chandra Prasad said that he had closed the shop as usual around 9 pm on Saturday and returned home. On Sunday morning, when a staff member arrived to open the shop, he discovered that the rear wall had been broken. On entering the shop, it was found that gold and silver ornaments were missing.

Prasad said that thieves also tried to break open the locker inside the shop, but failed. It has been alleged that the wires of the CCTV cameras inside the shop were deliberately cut.

Upon receiving information, a team from Siliguri Police Station rushed to the spot and launched an investigation. Police sources stated that preliminary findings suggest that the theft was premeditated.

Police believe the criminals had been gradually weakening the rear wall over several days and executed the theft late at night after the shop was closed.

The use of specialised tools by the thieves is also suspected. Police are examining CCTV footage from nearby establishments as part of the investigation.

Ward councillor Manjushree Paul said: “Security of the area should be hiked. I would request the police to take strict action and arrest the culprits at the earliest.”