The city police arrested three women from Madhya Pradesh for allegedly stealing gold jewellery and cash from customers at jewellery stores and textile showrooms in T. Nagar.
According to the police, Shalini Priya, 29, a resident of Taramani, visited a jewellery store on Usman Road in T. Nagar with her husband on July 25. After purchasing a gold ornament weighing 24.77 grams, she kept it along with her existing one-sovereign gold jewellery in her handbag.
After collecting a complimentary gift offered by the store, she found that nearly four sovereigns of gold jewellery kept in her bag had been stolen. Based on her complaint, the Crime Wing of the Mambalam Police registered a case and launched an investigation.
In another incident on the same day, Natarasa Krubanandan, a resident of Sithalapakkam in Chengalpattu district, visited a textile showroom in T. Nagar to purchase sarees. When he came down to the ground floor, he found that ₹75,000 and his bank card, which had been kept in his bag, were missing.
He lodged a complaint with the police seeking recovery of the stolen cash and bank card, following which another case was registered.
A special team of police examined CCTV footage from both locations and conducted an investigation. Based on the evidence, the team arrested three women from Koolkhedi village in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday. The accused were identified as Lakshmibai, 40, Meenakshi, 35, and Khushboo, 40.
The police recovered ₹6.44 lakh from the arrested women. During interrogation, the accused confessed that they travelled to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai, targeting busy commercial areas such as Chromepet, T. Nagar, and Pondy Bazaar.
They allegedly visited jewellery shops and other retail outlets, closely watched customers and stole gold jewellery and cash from their handbags before sharing the proceeds among themselves.
The police also found that Lakshmibai has five previous criminal cases registered against her at Boda Police Station in Madhya Pradesh, including an attempt to murder case. Meenakshi and Khushboo each have four previous criminal cases against them. The three women were produced before a court and were remanded to judicial custody.
Published - July 29, 2026 07:08 pm IST