KOCHI: Four people have been arrested in connection with the theft of 127 sovereign gold ornaments from a house and the murder of one of the gang members. The arrested have been identified as Thoppumpady Dinoy Christo, Tirur native Haris (transgender), Kannamali native Manilal and Punalur native Prasad. The deceased has been identified as Fort Kochi native Mangalath Joby (19), their gang member.

The burglary took place on New Year's night at the house of Dinoy's paternal uncle in Elamakkara. The next day was Dinoy's sister's wedding. The gang stole the gold after making sure that the paternal uncle's family members reached Dinoy's home to attend marriage celebrations. Dinoy was also present when police arrived at the home after learning about the theft. During the search, Dinoy asked a member of the Dog Squad how long the suspects' smell would stay in the house. Dinoy was under surveillance when the investigation team received this information.

Meanwhile, a burnt body was found on the railway track near Pullepady, Ernakulam on Wednesday morning. Dinoy also confessed to the murder while being questioned in connection with the theft case.

Earlier, the police had asked Dinoy and Joby to appear at the station for questioning after obtaining the fingerprints at the scene of the theft. Dinoy arrived at the police station without any hesitation as he had worn gloves at the time of the robbery. However, Joby had not used any gloves. Though Dinoy suggested Joby to go into hiding, he refused. That's when Joby was killed to avoid arrest, police said.

Police found most of the gold jewellery. Gold worth Rs 2.5 lakh was sold at a jewellery shop in Malappuram. The remaining Rs 1.5 lakh was seized from Dinoy.

Joby's murder

Joby was taken to a deserted railway track by Dinoy after getting drunk at a bar on Tuesday night. He then killed him by hitting with a hammer. The body was later burnt using petrol. The role of others will only become clear after detailed questioning, said City Police Commissioner H.J. Nagaraju said.