Madurai: In the Madurai Tanishq jewelry store robbery case, a special police team has arrested Suresh, the father of Instagram celebrity Nishanth, and his friend Meenakshi. The police have also recovered the jewelry that had been buried at the foothills. They are searching for the absconding Nishanth.
A robbery took place in the early hours of the 12th at the newly opened Tanishq jewelry store on Madurai Bypass Nehru Nagar Road. Gold and diamond jewelry kept on the first floor of the store, weighing several kilograms, were stolen.
To catch the robbers, five special teams were formed under the supervision of City Police Commissioner Rajendran and led by Deputy Commissioner Inigo Divyan. As a first step, the police examined the surveillance camera footage from the jewelry shop. In it, they found that around 3:34 a.m., when the robbery took place, a 21-year-old youth wearing a helmet and mask went to the Nehru Nagar area on a scooter.
Meanwhile, during the investigation, it was found that a young man who had come to the shop pretending to buy jewelry before the robbery had worn the jewelry and posted it on Instagram. Further investigation revealed that the young man was Nishanth, an Instagram celebrity from VGP Nagar. Following this, police searched his house and questioned his relatives, including his father Suresh, an auto driver.
During the investigation, it was found that after the robbery, Nishanth’s clothes were burned along with his father Suresh in a field area near Madakulam, near Madurai. Based on information provided by local residents who said they had witnessed this in person, Suresh (55) was arrested.
During the investigation conducted on him, it was found that Nishanth’s friend and another Instagram celebrity, Meenakshi (26) from Thiruppalai Ayyarpangalavu, was also involved in the robbery. Following this, the police arrested her as well. In the initial seizure, 5 kg of gold jewelry was recovered from the two of them.
During the interrogation of both at the SS Colony police station, they stated that the stolen jewelry had been divided into three parts, and that Nishanth had gone into hiding with the remaining jewelry after handing over two parts to them.
They also said that the jewelry had been buried at the foothills of Madakulam. Following this, the police took Meenakshi there. At that time, they recovered a bag containing 10 kg of jewelry that had been buried in a pit inside the bushes. The police said that 15 kg of jewelry has been recovered so far.
Regarding the arrest of 2 people in the jewelry store robbery, the police said, “After the jewelry store robbery incident, Nishanth, who had gone into hiding, contacted and spoke with his friend Meenakshi on the phone. Based on this, when Meenakshi was interrogated, it was found that she was also involved in the robbery.
By analyzing Nishanth’s mobile phone signal, it was found that he was last in Tiruppur. There, he bought a phone from an unidentified person and spoke with Meenakshi through it. After that, it is not known where he went.
We are also investigating whether the jewelry store employees have any connection to this robbery. Only if the absconding Nishanth is arrested will the full details of who else is involved in the robbery and where the remaining jewelry is located become known,” they said.
