CHENNAI: An auto driver teamed up with two young women, including a minor, to rob his mother-in-law's house near Vandalur and decamped with 24-sovereign gold jewellery and Rs 2 lakh in cash that the woman had kept for her younger daughter’s marriage.
Shanthi (56), a resident of Mannivakkam, is living with her two daughters, and elder daughter’s husband Dakshinamoorthy, an auto driver. Shanthi and her elder daughter work at a private firm, while the younger one is still in college.
According to the police, the family members had kept a house key at a secret spot so that whoever returns home first can use it.
Shanthi had stored 24 sovereigns of jewellery and Rs 2 lakh in a cupboard for her younger daughter's wedding. When the valuables went missing, she filed a complaint at Otteri police station in Vandalur.
Police scanned footage from nearby CCTV cameras and spotted Dakshinamoorthy unlocking the house with two women, staying inside for five hours, then leaving by auto. During interrogation, he confessed to have stolen the jewels along with his accomplices, Deepa (25) from Red Hills and a 17-year-old teacher-training institute student from Mudichur.
Police arrested all three, including the minor, and recovered the stolen gold and money. They were booked for criminal conspiracy and theft from a locked house, and were produced in court, which remanded them in judicial custody.