A woman, Syed Asheer alias Vijayalakshmi, who allegedly relieved women of gold ornaments after sedating them, was arrested on Saturday. Police recovered 360 gm of gold, valued about ₹ 10 lakh, from her possession.
Disclosing this to the newsmen here, Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP) P. Hari Kumar said the accused, a resident of Housing Board Colony at Bhavanipuram in the city, was reportedly fond of jewellery and wished to lead a lavish life. For the last few years, she was facing severe financial troubles.
To come out of the problems, she allegedly planned to rob women by offering them soft drinks and juices laced with sleeping pills. A few years ago, she consulted a doctor with some health problems, who prescribed sleeping pills to her. Since then she got addicted to the pills and never felt its effect until she took a high dose.
Modus operandi
“Taking advantage of the doctor’s prescription, Vijayalakshmi was purchasing the sleeping pills easily at medical stores. She carried the juice mixed with the pills in her bag, offer the same to the victim and she too would gulp it. Once the victim becomes unconscious, she used to relieve her of valuables and escape from the scene,” Mr. Hari Kumar said.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Addl.DCP-Crimes) G. Ramakoteshwara Rao said the accused had a knack of developing friendship with the victims at bus-stops.
With the help of CCTV footages at Pandit Nehru Bus Station, she was caught. Vijayalakshmi was involved in four cases, Central Crime Station (CCS) Assistant Commissioners of Police V. Pothuraju and P. Sunder Raju, who investigated the case, said.
