Visakhapatnam police arrest two women for looting gold worth ₹24 lakh

The duo, who were working as maids, had committed the theft over an extended period of time after gaining the trust of her employer, say police

Two women employed as maids at a residence inside a posh gated community in PM Palem were arrested by the city police on Wednesday on charges of stealing gold jewellery worth ₹24 lakh besides ₹50,000 in cash.

Identified as M. Chandrakala and G. Jyothi, both aged 32 and hailing from Vizianagaram district, the duo reportedly stole the gold jewellery in small quantities over an extended period of time after gaining the trust of their employer.

The police have also taken into custody two ‘receivers’ who allegedly purchased the stolen jewellery from Chandrakala and Jyothi.

“Migrating to the city in search of work, Chandrakala and Jyothi who lived in Lakshmivanipalem area near PM Palem found work at the residence of the victim, who happens to be the principal of a reputed school in the city. Whenever the complainant would leave home, she would entrust the house keys with the maids so that they could take care of the pet in the house. On November 13, the complainant approached the PM Police and lodged a complaint stating that 94 tolas of gold and ₹50,000 in cash was stolen from the safe in her house. She told police that she suspected the involvement of her maids in the theft,” Police Commissioner Ch. Srikanth said at a press conference held at the Police Conference Hall on Wednesday.

A special team was formed under the supervision of DCP (Crime) G. Naganna and ADCP (Crime) D. Gangadharam, who began keeping a tab on the movements of Chandrakala and Jyothi.

Soon, police found out that the duo had a lot of gold with them and were trying to sell it. Police arrested Chandrakala and Jyothi, and confiscated 70 tolas of gold which they had sold to two goldsmiths.

Mr. Srikanth added that the complainant kept her jewellery inside a safe which had a digital lock. “She had not changed the default password of the safe issued by the company at the time of its purchase. Aware of the password, the maids stole the jewellery over an extended period of time,” the Commissioner said, adding that action would be taken against the receivers as well.