Woman posing as doctor drugs patient, steals mangalsutra and earrings at Hyderabad hospital

HYDERABAD: A 30-year-old housewife has been arrested for allegedly posing as a doctor and stealing a patient's gold jewellery, including her mangalsutra, from the international block of a corporate hospital in Jubilee Hills on Feb 26. Police recovered the stolen gold jewellery from her possession on Monday.

Film Nagar police said they received a complaint on Feb 27 from the hospital's chief security officer (CSO), who alleged that an unidentified woman stole the gold ornaments of a patient.

The CCTV footage provided by the hospital showed the suspect entering the premises in a white hatchback on Feb 26 afternoon.



Dressed in a white coat, the woman moved around several corridors before going to basement-2 of the international block, police said. She entered an in-patient room when the occupant, a 38-year-old housewife, was asleep and her husband stepped out for a short break. "She checked the hand bag of the patient and stole a gold mangalsutra along with a pair of ear rings, all weighing about five tola," a Film Nagar police officer said.

After returning to the room, the patient's husband alerted hospital security personnel about the missing jewellery. The security team reviewed the CCTV footage and identified the suspect on Feb 27.

Based on the CSO's complaint, Film Nagar police registered a case under Section 305-A (Theft in any building, tent or vessel) of the BNS on the same night.

Using the vehicle's registration number, police identified the accused as Sirisha, a housewife from Vikarabad. She was arrested from Vikarabad on Monday.

Police said the accused confessed that she has a one-year old daughter and, since her husband was currently not doing a job, her family was going through financial hardships. Sirisha also said she visited the hospital a few times in the past to see her relatives admitted there and, based on her experience, decided to commit theft of valuables from in-patient rooms.

"We have recovered the entire stolen gold ornaments from the possession of the accused. She was issued a notice as per law, asking her to appear for questioning whenever required," Film Nagar inspector A Ramesh said.