MADURAI – 15 Nov, 2026 A series of security lapses by those manning the newly inaugurated Tanishq showroom in Madurai led to the nocturnal burglary of gold and diamond jewellery worth several crores, which went unnoticed for a while, on the intervening night of Wednesday (November 11, 2026) and Thursday (November 12).
While many jewellery showrooms adopt the practice of emptying their showcases and securing the valuables inside safety lockers after working hours, in this showroom, the ornaments were left in the display cases, even during the night, as the locker facility was still under construction.
This allowed a lone burglar to lay his hands on the valuables without much difficulty.
The biggest lapse was the failure to turn on the anti-burglary alarm that could have alerted officials about the intruder in the dead of the night.
“The log showed that the alarm was switched off on Wednesday morning as the employees reported for duty. It should have been switched on again [on Wednesday night] before the employees locked the shutters,” the Commissioner of Police, S. Rajenthiran, said.
The police were also critical of the urgency with which the showroom was inaugurated, even as construction work on the building was incomplete.