Bhubaneswar, June 13: Employees working at more than 150 jewellery shops in the city will come under the police scanner shortly.

The commissionerate police today asked jewellery shop owners to have their employees registered with the local police and get their criminal antecedents verified before employing them. Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Nitinjeet Singh said the jewellery shop owners were told to provide all details of their employees, including their permanent address and copies of identity proofs to the cops.

“A police team will visit these shops every 15 days to carry out checks. This will reduce thefts and help us to identify the criminals in case of any crime,” said Singh.

The move came in the wake of a number of thefts reported at jewellery shops in which employees were found to be involved. Today, a number of jewellers, under the banner of Bhubaneswar Jewellers Association, met additional commissioner of police Santosh Bala and the DCP to draw their attention to the delay in arrests of those behind the thefts at jewellery stores. On June 5, armed dacoits looted gold ornaments worth around Rs 2 crore from City Chandan Jewellery located around 100 meters away from Kharavela Nagar police station. They held the employees hostage at gunpoint.

Some employees managed to get hold of one of the dacoits. The police have not been able to arrest the others involved in the crime or recover the stolen ornaments. Moreover, one of the employees of the shop was found to be the mastermind of the robbery and is currently absconding.

The jewellers today urged the commissionerate police to expedite the probe, said association vice-president Purnima Sahoo.