Balasore, Oct. 29: Police have detained five persons on charges of looting a jewellery showroom here. The detainees include the manager of the showroom as the police suspect insiders’ hand in the burglary.

The suspicion arises from the fact that the CCTV camera at the showroom has been removed, said a police officer.

The police investigation began after the incident was reported late last evening. A scientific team along with a sniffer dog was pressed into service.

“We are interrogating the manager and three security guards working at the jewellery showroom,” said a senior police officer. “The investigation is in progress and we have got some clues,” said Balasore superintendent Amrita Dash. However, she refused to divulge the details.

The incident came to the notice of the owner after a security guard on evening duty found one of the shutters of the locker room open. He alerted the owner and subsequently the police were informed.

The locks were found open, but not broken. The glass panels were broken, the cash box was lying open and the CCTV camera installed inside the room had been removed.

The owner of the showroom informed the police that ornaments worth around Rs 4 lakh and cash worth around Rs 9 lakh was missing from the locker.

“Circumstantial evidence suggests that the robbery is the handiwork of some insiders. We are recording statements of five staff members, including the manager, guards and key carrier,” said deputy superintendent of police Kailash Chandra Parida.

“There could be others involved too, and we are investigating the case from all angles,” he said.