THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amidst allegations by jewellers that they were being victimised over the recovery of stolen jewellery, the state police have publicised new guidelines that are to be followed by policemen while recovering stolen gold and silver.
Recently, a Chalai based jeweller with over a century’s tradition had approached the Human Rights Commission against the city police for recovering gold arbitrarily and threatening to frame him.
Though the new circular reiterates that jewellers have to be booked as suspects for purchasing stolen ornaments, it asks police personnel to follow every procedure without flouting norms.
“Suspects reveal the place where they have sold jewellery and sometimes also confess about past undetected thefts. Policemen without registering any cases, quickly approach the jeweller and claim stolen ornaments related to all the cases from one shop. Some jeweller shops mostly, small and medium ones end up losing a fortune,” explained All-Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants Association general secretary Ram Mohan Kamath.
The new police circular says that while recovering the valuables, mahasar should be prepared in the presence of witnesses and a copy should be given to jewellery owners. A receipt of the exact gold recovered should be given to the jeweller and it should be produced before the court.
“There have been several instances where the gold recovered from jewellery does not match the ones produced in court. The jewellery shop owner often tends to be at the receiving end,” Mr Kammath.
City police officials claim that jewellery shops across Nagercoil and some in Chalai accept gold stolen from the capital.
Meanwhile the jeweller’s association has requested shops not to accept jewellery from strangers or people who do not come with adequate references or bills.
