TIRUCHY: Miscreants broke open the doors of a house in Thanjavur and escaped with 16 sovereign jewellery after scattering chilli powder all along the house on Wednesday.

Haja Maideen (55), a resident of Papanasam, has been working in Saudi Arabia, while his wife Hazeena Begam, son Malik Ibrahim, brother Abdul Haleem, and his wife Mariam Parveen have been residing at their ancestral house at Rajagiri village in Papanasam.

On Tuesday, all family members went to the newly constructed house at Periya Theru, which is a few metres away.

On Wednesday morning, when Malik Ibrahim came to the old house to take some materials, he was shocked to see the doors were open and two unidentified persons were spreading chilli powder. When Malik Ibrahim raised the alarm, they attacked him and escaped from the spot.

When he went inside and inspected the room, he found that 16 sovereign jewels were missing.

Soon, Malik Ibrahim filed a complaint with the Papanasam police. The police and the fingerprint experts rushed to the spot and conducted an inquiry. A case was registered, and investigations are on.