CHENNAI: A 37-year-old man, who targeted elderly women at hospitals, was arrested by the MGR police on Saturday on charges of stealing 2.5 sovereigns of gold jewellery from an elderly woman under the guise of helping her avail a government-sanctioned loan scheme. The police have recovered the stolen jewels from him.
The accused, P Chitravel of Madurai, had approached the victim S Susheela (67) of Vadapalani when she visited the ESI hospital at KK Nagar for her regular check up on January 16. Claiming to help her avail the scheme which she was eligible for, he said she should not meet officials wearing gold jewellery.
As she removed her gold chain and ring, he took them from her claiming to help her pack it. He gave her a notebook to enter her details and as she was writing, he escaped with it. Susheela then lodged a police complaint. The police traced and nabbed Chitravel on Saturday.
Inquiries revealed that he targeted elderly women at government hospitals. Recently, he had stolen a gold chain weighing three sovereigns from an elderly woman at a government hospital in Tiruvallur. After an inquiry, he was remanded in judicial custody.