COIMBATORE: The Anaimalai police in Coimbatore district on Thursday registered a case against a woman who befriended a woman devotee and stole about 13 sovereigns of gold ornaments from the latter at the Arulmigu Masaniamman Temple at Anaimalai.
The case has been filed against Shanthi of Salem. The devotee who lost the valuables is Nagammal (67), wife of Thirupathi of Gandhi Nagar at Achampathu in Madurai.
Police said Nagammal, a daily wage labourer, visited a temple at Kanakkanpatti on May 8 morning.
Shanthi befriended Nagammal and another devotee, Seetha, at the temple and invited them to visit a private yoga centre in Coimbatore district. Believing her words, Nagammal and Seetha visited the centre along with Shanthi.
Later, they visited Masaniamman temple at Anaimalai in Coimbatore district around 5 pm on the same day. After offering prayers at the temple, they slept near the second gate of the temple around 9 pm.
Before that Shanthi asked Nagammal to remove her gold jewels and put it in her bag for safety. Nagammal kept the bag under her head and slept. The next day around 9 am, Nagammal and Seetha woke up and found the bag containing five sovereigns of gold chain, six sovereigns of gold bangles and two sovereigns of gold rings missing. Shanthi was not to be seen.
Nagammal and Seetha launched a search at the temple and surrounding areas in Anaimalai and they could not trace the woman. Nagammal complained to Anaimalai police who registered a case against the suspect under Section 379 of IPC on Thursday night. Police said they have collected CCTV footage of the suspected woman and formed a special team to nab her.