Kerala royal robbed of Rs 300 crore in jewels

KOCHI: Kerala police on Tuesday launched a manhunt to nab a three-member gang which allegedly killed a member belonging to the Mavelikkara royal family and robbed him of diamonds worth Rs 300 crore.

B Harihara Varma was killed at the house of his advocate Haridas in Thiruvananthapuram where he had come for the sale of the diamonds. Haridas claimed the diamonds are worth Rs 300 crore.

"Haridas claims that both he and Varma were tied and forced to inhale chloroform during the diamond sale negotiations. We have to verify the genuineness of the statement," DCP P Vimaladithya, who is heading the special investigating team, told TOI.

The DCP said it was not clear whether Varma had owned the diamonds as claimed by Haridas. Police are also verifying the lineage of Varma as some members of the Mavelikkara royal family of south Kerala had ruled out any relations with him.

Police said the gang members had come to Thiruvananthapuram by air and the taxi used to flee the crime scene was traced. Leader of Opposition V S Achuthanandan has demanded a CBI probe into Varma's murder.