The Chengannur police have arrested a 52-year-old man on the charge of stealing 50 sovereigns of gold ornaments and ₹20,000 from a house at Pravinkoodu, near Thiruvanvandoor.
The arrested has been identified as J. Mathukutty of Vadavathoor in Kottayam. The alleged incident occurred in a house rented by a doctor couple on August 10. Following the incident, District Police Chief Chaitra Teresa John constituted a special investigation team led by Chengannur Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) M.K. Binukumar to probe the case.
The accused was nabbed from Kollakadavu, near Chengannur, while on his way from Kollam to Kottayam by a police team led by Chengannur circle inspector A.C. Vipin. In a statement issued on Saturday, Mr. Binukumar said the police had recovered the entire stolen gold from Mathukutty’s house at Vadavathoor.
According to the police, the accused entered the house after breaking open the front door when the family was away. The couple discovered the theft of gold and money from the almirah in the bedroom when they returned home at 8 p.m. after work.
Though hailing from Vadavathoor, Mathukutty has been living in a rented house in Kollam. “Initially, there were no clues about the thief. However, we expanded the investigation to individuals with a history of similar thefts. This led us to Mathukutty who has been involved in several theft cases. As we closed in on him, he attempted to flee to Kottayam from Kollam. The police team led by inspector Vipin intercepted him on the Kollakadavu bridge. He tried to jump off the bridge but was apprehended by the police team,” the DySP said.
The police said the accused had been arrested in 2017 for a series of thefts in Kollam. The accused was produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court Chengannur and remanded in judicial custody.
