Gold robbery: Cops arrest two women

Kochi: Muvattupuzha police on Tuesday arrested two women in connection with the robbery in which gold ornaments of an 86-year-old were stolen.The robbery occurred at the woman’s house in Mancharipadi, Marady. The accused were identified as Sudha Shankar, 38, from Sempatti, Madurai, and Lakshmi, 46, from Malayagoundanpatti, Dindigul, and were apprehended by an investigation team led by Muvattupuzha DSP Abdul Muneer P.The incident occurred around 8.30am on Sunday morning. According to police, Shankar, who was working as a domestic help, conspired with her friend Lakshmi to plan and execute the theft. The bedridden elderly woman, identified as Mariyamma Paily, was robbed of ornaments worth over Rs 11.6 lakh.Shankar was taken into custody on Sunday on suspicion, but she was released after questioning. Investigators, who had a hint that she was somehow involved in the robbery, couldn’t initially recover incriminating evidence against her.Preliminary investigations also indicated that a third person was present in the house. Further investigation led police to Shankar’s accomplice Lakshmi.Shankar was again questioned on Monday, but she was released. According to FIR, the allegation was that an unidentified assailant pushed Shankar into the bathroom and locked her inside before robbing the woman. The woman was wearing a gold chain and four bangles, totally weighing around 10 sovereigns. Police later found that Shankar fabricated these stories to mislead the investigation.The stolen gold jewellery was recovered, and the accused will be taken into custody for further investigation, police said.The investigation team included inspector Anil George, SIs N S Roy, Charlie Thomas, S Sreenath, PCs Jayakumar, M M Ubaid, C B Anilkumar, ASIs M K Girija, A V Dini, and senior civil police officers Haris H, Ratheesh M P, Sreeju Rajan, Binil Eldos, and Ajesh A P.