Hyderabad: Wife of railway employee turns pickpocket to sustain family

Hyderabad: To fund the education of her two kids and the medical expenses of her bedridden husband, a 36-year-old home-maker turned to pickpocketing. Aruri Priya, whose husband is a railway employee, targeted people in crowded buses and public places.

KPHB Police on Saturday arrested her and recovered Rs 2 lakh worth property. Priya and A. Venkatesh, a railway employee, are married for over two decades ago and have a son and a daughter who are doing their graduation.

A year ago, Venkatesh underwent heart surgery and has been bedridden ever since. Priya told the police that he was on long medical leave, and his salary was being cut. In addition to her husband’s medical expenses, she had to pay for her kids’ education.

Priya told the police that while travelling in a city bus, she noticed a woman stealing the belongings of a fellow passenger and walking away. Inspired by this, she decided to commit rob passengers in crowded buses. She targeted buses on the Kukatpally-Miyapur and Kukatpally-Balanagar routes.

To explain the money coming in, she told her family that she was running an orphanage away from the city, and had to go there frequently.

ACP Kukatpally N. Bhujanga Rao alleged that Priya was addicted to vices and needed money for that.

“She picked the pockets of two persons at KPHB and Miyapur police station limits in the recent past. Based on credible information, when she was in Kukatpally to dispose of the stolen valuables, crime teams nabbed her. On inquiry, she admitted her offence,” he said. He said gold jewellery and cash worth Rs 2 lakh were recovered from her possession. Priya was arrested and sent to remand on Saturday.