CHENNAI: The city police, on Wednesday, arrested a 38-year-old man and his 30-year-old woman comrade-in-arms, in a theft in which the duo operated to decamp with valuables. The con woman’s husband impersonated a Chennai Corporation Official and kept the octogenarian in Virugambakkam occupied on July 11 while she was robbed of her valuables. The three of them had been leading a lavish lifestyle in Ambur, near Vellore. They would reportedly visit the city as and when they ran out of funds so as to recharge their coffers.
The CCTV footage obtained from the neighbourhood came in handy for the Virugambakkam police to develop the images of the trio involved. The arrested were identified as D. Ganesh (38) and G. Mallika (30) while her husband Gandhirajan is on the run. Cops have already fanned out teams to locate him. On July 11, two persons arrived at the doorstep of Kumaradeven (82) in Lakshmi Nagar, Alwar Thirunagar extension, Virugambakkam, at around 1.30 pm. Gandhirajan, who posed as a Corporation official, demanded tax receipts that the family may have paid.
Kumaradevan, who fished out the receipts from a steel almirah, handed them to Gandhirajan. The imposter engaged Kumaradevan and his wife in conversation after taking them to the backyard of the house. The fake official subsequently scribbled something in his notebook and handed the receipts back stating the family had all their taxes accounted for and that he would put the same on his record as well.
Relieved, the couple let the incident pass. The robbery came to light only after 2 days when the couple were looking for the valuables stored in their house. It occurred to Kumaradevan’s wife two days later that they had left the steel almirah open when they went to the backyard during the visit of the ‘official’. They then preferred a complaint with Virugambakkam police. The CCTV grab showed a woman lying in wait to alert the other two operating inside the house and all three leaving together.
Ganesh, who was picked up during a vehicle check on Tuesday, gave away the identities of Mallika and Gandhirajan. Ganesh has 5 theft cases pending against him in Pazhavanthangal police station besides another in Puducherry. The gang had reportedly sold the jewellery and the cops recovered Rs 1.75 lakhs from the arrested.
