How do thieves eliminate the risk of getting caught on camera? They simply walk away with the electronic eyes that could land them in trouble. Just what a gang in Pune, who broke into a shop and took away jewellery worth nearly Rs2 crore, did on Thursday.

Besides the booty – 7.58kg of gold ornaments worth Rs1.97 crore and Rs47,000 in cash – the unidentified burglars also yanked the CCTV cameras installed at JP Jewellers in Rasta Peth.

The police said it’s the first such case in which cameras have been taken away, wiping out clues from the scene. In April, gold ornaments and cash collectively valued at Rs5 crore had been robbed from a gold loan company in Pune.

Thursday’s heist, said the police, took place between 9.15pm and 11.15 pm after the shop shut for the day. The owner, Zaverchand Chonigra, and his son Kiran had left the shop a little after 9pm. As a routine, Zaverchand had dinner at his home nearby and used to sleep at the shop.

Deputy commissioner of police Ramnath Pokale said that when Zaverchand returned around 11pm, he found the rear door ajar. “He stepped inside to find the jewellery gone,” said Pokale.

Pokale said police sniffer dogs indicated four different directions. The police have found four sets of fingerprints on glass display cases at the shop. “We’re looking at CCTV footage of other commercial establishments in the area,” said Pokale.

The Pune police crime branch is also part of the investigation.