A 52-year-old French national’s purse was stolen from Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum on Sunday. The woman has come to India for Ayurvedic treatment in Varanasi.
Cecile Kypraios landed in India on Saturday and the next day decided to go to the museum with some of her friends.
“I was reading the history and it was extremely crowded. I had gone around 2 p.m.,” she said.
After visiting the museum, she and her friends decided to go to a eatery nearby for lunch around 4 p.m. and she looked for her wallet inside her bag to pay the bill, and didn’t find it there. “I searched for it for a while and even went back to the museum but couldn’t find it. That’s when I approached the police,” she said.
Cards and cash
Ms. Kypraios claimed her wallet had her visa card, national health insurance card and ₹1,500 in cash. She told the police that it was stolen by someone at the museum.
Worried about the money for treatment and stay in India till November 30, Ms. Kypraios said she has asked her husband to send some money.
“I have essentially come here for treatment and now I have no money at all. I am leaving for Varanasi in two days,” she said, adding that she has travelled to India twice before and nothing like this had happened with her before.
The police said a case under Section 379 (Punishment for theft) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at Tughlak Road police station.
“We have received the complaint and are looking into it. CCTV footage of the museum has been sought as the woman suspects it was stolen there,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) B. K. Singh.
