Muvattupuzha robbery: Police still groping in the dark

Kochi: Mystery shrouds the daylight robbery in which gold ornaments of an 86-year-old were stolen in Muvattupuzha on Sunday morning. The investigation team that took a domestic help into custody on Sunday released her after questioning.

Investigators, who suspected that the domestic help was somehow involved in the robbery, said they hadn’t found any incriminating evidence against her yet. Preliminary investigations indicated that a third person was present in the house on Sunday morning, said an officer.

The bedridden elderly woman, identified as Mariyamma Paily, was robbed of ornaments worth over Rs 11.6 lakh. The officer said that the domestic help was again questioned on Monday, on suspicion that the robber could be connected to her.

“We questioned the domestic help’s partner, an Adimali native, too. An inspection was held at his house, but we couldn’t recover anything incriminating. Details of the woman’s call data records are also being verified,” said an officer.

He said the investigation was not being held with a presumption that the woman was involved. “The elderly woman has memory issues. Hence, her statement is inconsistent. We questioned the help on suspicion. At the same time, we are investigating a few possible suspects, who have no connection with the domestic help, too,” said the officer.

According to the FIR, the alleged robbery took place at 8.20am. Only the two women were in the house at that time. An unidentified assailant pushed the maid into the bathroom and locked her inside before robbing the elderly woman, said the FIR.

The elderly woman was wearing a gold chain and four bangles, totally weighing around 10 sovereigns.

Muvattupuzha police registered an FIR based on the woman’s brother’s complaint and began an investigation.

“The only description that the woman was able to give was that the assailant was wearing soiled clothes. She couldn’t give a clear statement due to her memory issues, thus making the investigation challenging. We are checking CCTV footage and call data records from the area to close in on the suspect,” said the officer, adding that no one was in custody as of Monday evening.