26 sovereigns of gold stolen from Kottayam house; further investigation underway

Kottayam: Twenty-three sovereigns of gold were stolen from a house in Kottayam in the early hours of Sunday. The theft came to light only in the afternoon after neighbours alerted the family that the main door of their house had been left open.

The milkman who arrived at the house in the morning noticed that the main door was open. Assuming that the family members were inside, he left without raising an alarm. However, when the door remained open for an extended period, nearby residents became suspicious and contacted the family.

The family members were not at home at the time of the incident. They had gone to Nedumbassery Airport to see off their son.

After being informed by the neighbours, the family members returned home and discovered that the house had been burgled. A subsequent inspection revealed that 26 out of 39 sovereigns of gold were missing from the shelf. The remaining 13 sovereigns were stored in a small box which the thief did not notice.

The police, forensic experts and dog squad have examined the crime scene and collected evidence as part of the investigation. Since there are no CCTV cameras in the immediate vicinity, police are examining footage from cameras installed along nearby roads to identify possible suspects or vehicles linked to the crime. A house in the same area had also reported an attempted burglary a few days ago

The Pallickathodu Police dismissed speculations of an insider job. An FIR has been registered under section 331(3) and section 305(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with criminal house-trespass and aggravated theft.

Further investigation regarding the incident is underway.