Pregnant burglar arrested for ‘walk-in’ thefts using keys hidden outside Chennai homes

CHENNAI: The ill-advised, yet all pervasive habit among the public to place their home-keys in flower pots, under doormats, and inside shoes – all kept outside their homes, came in handy for this serial burglar from Bengaluru who visited the city frequently to steal from locked houses along the suburban railway line after finding the key at any of these ‘hiding’ spots.

Kumaran Nagar Police arrested B Jayanthi (34) of Bengaluru on Tuesday. Police said that she is five months pregnant.

A team led by Inspector (Crime) Kokila had been on the lookout for the suspect after her ‘walk-in robbery’ at a house on Murugesan Street within the Kumaran Nagar police limits last month.

According to the complainant, E Balamurugan (38), his mother lived on the ground floor while he lived with his family on the first floor. On May 1, his mother had locked her house and placed it in one of the ‘hiding spots’ before leaving. When she returned, she could not find the keys and had used alternate keys from her son to open the door.

On entering the home, she found that about 3 sovereigns of gold chain, 30 grams of silver articles and Rs 5,000 cash were missing. Balamurugan filed a complaint with Kumaran Nagar police station after which a team assessed the CCTV footage and zeroed in on the suspect.

After investigations, police received a tip-off about Jayanthi in the city and apprehended her on Tuesday. Probe revealed that she frequently travelled from Bengaluru to Chennai by train and then took the suburban railway line and got down at any of the stations like Mambalam, Saidapet and searched for locked houses. She would then look for keys in any of the spots where people generally ‘hide’ them, walk into the house and escape with whatever she got.

“In the last four months, Jayanthi has stolen from at least four houses in Mambalam, Saidapet, and Kumaran Nagar areas. Investigations have revealed that she only acted in an individual capacity,” said a cop.

Jayanthi was produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.