Mumbai woman held year after jewel theft in Kilpauk Medical College hostel

CHENNAI: A year after 2.25 sovereigns of a medical student went missing from Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, city police arrested the suspect, a woman when she returned to carry out a similar theft at the Institute of Child Health in Egmore.

The woman identified as Aarthidevnani Bhagwandas (36) is a native of Mumbai but she roamed across the country to carry out thefts, said police.

Dr V K Monica, a postgraduate student at KMC stepped out after keeping her 2.25 sovereigns in her hostel room in April last year and when she returned, she found the jewel stolen.

Combing of the CCTV footage revealed the suspicious movement of a woman near the hostel and a complaint was lodged at Kilpauk police station. While police could not trace her back then, the medical students had shared the CCTV grabs of the woman in their WhatsApp groups.

On Thursday, she returned to the city to carry out a similar theft at ICH in Egmore but was caught by the students as they were already aware of her.

Since the accused had carried out theft in KMC, she was handed over to Kilpauk police and remanded in judicial custody the same day. She has been taken into police custody for further investigation.