Vasai-Virar: An elderly couple from Karnataka was arrested on Wednesday for fleeing with gold jewellery worth ₹23 lakh, which they had borrowed from their neighbors in Vasai-Virar for a wedding but never returned.
According to the Achole police, a resident of Neminath Tower in Evershine City, Vasai-Virar, filed a complaint on April 20. She reported that her neighbor had borrowed her jewellery for a family wedding and had not returned it.
The complainant, Sunanda Kukdaal, approached the police after discovering that the couple had sold their flat and were not returning. Based on her complaint, the police registered a case of theft and began searching for the couple, identified as Anju, 56, and her husband Suresh Reddy, 67.
“The couple had been living in Evershine City for several months and had formed a friendship with their neighbors, Kukdaal and her family. On April 10, Anju asked Sunanda to lend her gold jewellery worth ₹23 lakh for a family wedding, promising to return it within three days,” a police officer from Achole police station said.
When Anju did not return the jewellery even after 10 days, Sunanda became suspicious. She tried calling Anju but received no response.
The Achole police tracked the couple to Gandhinagar in Karnataka, where they were living under assumed identities. During a search of their rented apartment, officers found cash and jewellery worth ₹11 lakh.
Upon questioning, the Reddy couple admitted to cheating Sunanda and several other friends and neighbors where they had previously lived. “We are now investigating where the couple sold the remaining ornaments and how long they had been involved in such activities,” said a police officer from Achole police station.