Kochi : Case materials including a watch worth nearly Rs 1.9 lakh have gone missing from a storage facility of the Ernakulam district court complex. As per the FIR, items linked to 124 cases have gone missing.
Ernakulam Central Police registered an FIR on Oct 29 under section relating to theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of master. The watch was part of a 2016 case in which a gang allegedly threatened the industrialist and took away a luxury car and the watch, together worth Rs 1.5 crore. A subsequent examination of records, including audit reports, revealed that materials in 123 other cases were also missing.
Police sources said the theft came to light after the court approved a claim petition filed last month by a woman industrialist from Kochi seeking the release of her husband’s watch. The accused is yet to be traced. South Police had recovered the items from a moneylender in Thrissur’s Triprayar. The watch was found missing when court officials checked the storage facility to release it.
The documents and articles related to cases are suspected to have gone missing between Jan 1, 2016, and Sept 21, 2026. A case was registered based on a complaint by the junior superintendent of JFCM-II Court. The room where the case properties were stored had reportedly been shifted at some point. Investigators will examine court registers to determine whether the items went missing. CCTV footage is also being scrutinised and statements will be recorded from court staff, including the employee responsible for the strongroom.