TNN | Dec 30, 2013, 12.08 AM IST
CHENNAI: The city police on Sunday claimed they had strong clues in their probe of the break-in at Government Museum in Egmore.
Police officers investigating the theft that was discovered on Saturday morning said it was the handiwork of two burglars. "We have strong leads and should corner some suspects within two days," an investigating officer said. "We hope to have concrete evidence of their involvement by then."
Police are reviewing the security at the police outpost in the museum and, where two armed guards are supposed to be posted at all times.
However, several questions remained unanswered two days after the break-in. Investigators and museum officials continued to maintain that only two replicas of Mughal coins were stolen. They could not explain why, having managed to break into the museum, the thieves took only two replica coins and left behind invaluable artefacts.
CHENNAI: The city police on Sunday claimed they had strong clues in their probe of the break-in at Government Museum in Egmore.
Police officers investigating the theft that was discovered on Saturday morning said it was the handiwork of two burglars. "We have strong leads and should corner some suspects within two days," an investigating officer said. "We hope to have concrete evidence of their involvement by then."
Police are reviewing the security at the police outpost in the museum and, where two armed guards are supposed to be posted at all times.
However, several questions remained unanswered two days after the break-in. Investigators and museum officials continued to maintain that only two replicas of Mughal coins were stolen. They could not explain why, having managed to break into the museum, the thieves took only two replica coins and left behind invaluable artefacts.
The mystery of the unbroken seal on the main entrance of the museum also has police flummoxed. If the burglars posed as visitors and hid in the museum when it was closed, how did they escape? A broken window on the second floor left an opening to narrow for a person to slip through and was too high to leap from.
But investigators were optimistic about being able to solve the case. "We have fingerprints from the crime scene," the investigating officer said.
Police were banking on surveillance camera footage but were disappointed when they saw that the output was grainy.
"The cameras do not have proper night vision but we managed to locate some movement in the footage," a police officer said. "It looks like a two-member gang broke in."
Police suspect it could have been an insider job and are questioning the curator and other staff who worked in the bronze gallery from where the coins were stolen.
The museum opened to visitors as usual on Sunday. The bronze gallery was closed on Saturday after the break-in.
"The locks that were broken in the first and the second floor have been repaired. We cross-checked the artefacts with the museum inventory and found that everything is intact. Nothing else has been stolen," a senior museum official said.
Museum sources said officials plan to suspend some of staff members, as the break-in exposed lapses in security.
Source
But investigators were optimistic about being able to solve the case. "We have fingerprints from the crime scene," the investigating officer said.
Police were banking on surveillance camera footage but were disappointed when they saw that the output was grainy.
"The cameras do not have proper night vision but we managed to locate some movement in the footage," a police officer said. "It looks like a two-member gang broke in."
Police suspect it could have been an insider job and are questioning the curator and other staff who worked in the bronze gallery from where the coins were stolen.
The museum opened to visitors as usual on Sunday. The bronze gallery was closed on Saturday after the break-in.
"The locks that were broken in the first and the second floor have been repaired. We cross-checked the artefacts with the museum inventory and found that everything is intact. Nothing else has been stolen," a senior museum official said.
Museum sources said officials plan to suspend some of staff members, as the break-in exposed lapses in security.
Source
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