Celine Correa could hardly control her emotions when Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil spoke of the trauma owners undergo after thefts.
“It was nearly ₹15 lakh worth of ornaments that was stolen by a maid I trusted. I learned about the theft in February, a month later,” Ms. Correa said. The stolen articles included her daughter’s gold ornaments.
“We had given the house key to the maid when we were abroad. We are being held responsible for doing this,” she said. On Thursday, she and her husband Victor were returned articles worth ₹6 lakh, including a diamond necklace and four gold bangles, which they had mentioned in the complaint. “We are happy that a part of ornaments purchased with our hard earned money is back,” Ms. Correa said, while regretting their failure to give police the entire list of articles that were stolen.
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Amitha Ramesh from NMPT Colony in Surathkal received a part of the 200 g of gold ornaments and ₹25,000 stolen from her house on December 23, 2018. “The police have caught one accused. I hope they catch the other who has the remaining stolen articles,” she said.
The footage recorded on CCTV cameras installed at Ms. Ramesh house helped police nab the accused. “I had brought these ornaments from the bank locker for use in a family function,” she said, and added that the arrested had come to her house a day before the theft in the guise of a tamarind seller.
Among others who received the articles on Friday included Suman, a resident of Hosabettu, whose articles were stolen on November 26, 2018, reportedly by the same accused involved in the theft at the house of Ms. Ramesh. “The CCTV footage was crucial in cracking our case,” Ms. Suman said.
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Sanjeevi, a pourakarmika, was happy to receive her ‘Kari Mani’ which had been snatched by two bike borne thieves in Krishnapura in Surathkal few weeks ago.