CHENNAI: A man, who posed as a doctor at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) and stole gold jewellery and a mobile phone from a woman who was caring for her mother-in-law, and his accomplice were arrested by the police.
The accused, identified as Rajesh Prithvi (35) from Press Colony, Coimbatore, and Aravindan (30) from Seerkazhi in Mayiladuthurai, were nabbed on Thursday by the RGGGH police station crime branch.
According to the police, Kanchana (30) of Kolathur had admitted her mother-in-law to the hospital on June 4, 2025. On June 6, while she was accompanying her mother-in-law to see an anaesthesiologist, a man approached her. Introducing himself as the doctor in charge of the surgery, he sought the medical documents.
The next day, he approached Kanchana in the ward and took her to the 7th floor, claiming they needed to purchase medicines. He then suggested Kanchana too undergo a scan and instructed her to place her jewellery and mobile phone in a bag before the procedure. Trusting him, Kanchana handed over her three-sovereign gold thali (mangalsutra), a two-gram ring, and her mobile phone. The man asked her to wait while he kept the bag safe in his cabin, but he did not return.
Realising she had been deceived, Kanchana filed a complaint at the RGGGH police station. A police team analysed the CCTV footage from the hospital and identified the suspects, and arrested them on March 12.
During interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed and said they sold the stolen jewellery and bought two gold coins weighing 12 grams and an old car. The police have recovered the gold coins and the car from their possession.
Further investigation uncovered that Rajesh Prithvi has a criminal history, including two cases of attempted murder.
They were produced before a court on Thursday and remanded in judicial custody.