As sleuths hunt for clues, all signs point to inside job in Jangpura jewellery heist

Accessing the building's terrace without arousing suspicion, entering the store through a specific weak point, disarming the surveillance system, boring a hole in the only concrete wall of the strong room and evading most CCTV cameras in the packed market-every step burglars took during an audacious heist on a jewellery store in Jangpura was planned meticulously and executed with clockwork precision, pointing to an insider's role in the theft, said police officers investigating the elaborate crime.

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Investigators made little headway in identifying the suspects a day after the 20 crore burglary came to light, but trained their focus on the showroom's employees, past and present, as well as service providers who frequented the store in Bhogal neighbourhood.

"The burglars targeted the only vulnerabilities in and around the showroom. This is possible only when somebody knows a place inside-out," a senior police officer said on Wednesday.

According to the police, burglars robbed the 75-year-old store of at least 200 pieces of jewellery, including 125 diamonds, on Sunday night, executing a well-crafted operation with relatively consummate ease. Each chapter of the heist, from start to finish, suggests an inside job, said investigators.

Easy access to the terrace

The thieves, said police, mapped their entry and exit paths accurately and likely recced buildings in the vicinity before the heist.

They first made their way to the terrace of the four-storey building from a neighbouring building around 11.20pm on Sunday, going completely unnoticed.

"While there are at least three ways to access the showroom's terrace through adjoining buildings, someone had to have had proper knowledge of the neighbourhood to do it without drawing anyone's attention," said Babbi Saini, an immediate neighbour.

In the absence of any definitive CCTV footage,the police have also not ruled out the possibility that the thieves camped on one of those terraces for several hours before striking.

Targeting a specific weakpoint to enter