CHENNAI: Posing as recruiters for a private television channel, a couple stole jewels belonging to an aspiring newsreader in Chennai.
While the couple has been arrested, the police revealed that one of them used to work as a home guard in the city police eight years ago.
According to the police, the victim, Minimol, 27, from Kanniyakumari who stays in Guindy with friends had come across an advertisement for a news reader job on OLX a few days ago.
“Minimol contacted the mobile number given in the advertisement and she was told that a woman would pick her up as the screen test is happening at a hotel in Thoraipakkam and she must wear jewels for the test. Trusting them, Minimol went with a woman in a two-wheeler,” said a police officer.
A man who received them in the hotel took them to a room where she was asked questions related to the job.
The couple later asked her to remove her jewels and told her to freshen up in the bathroom to apply makeup.
While Minimol was in the bathroom, the couple locked the door from the outside and escaped with jewels, said a senior police officer.
As the TV volume was too loud, the hotel manager opened the door with spare keys and found Minimol locked up in the bathroom.
Later, she lodged a complaint at Thoraipakkam police station and a special team was formed to nab the accused.
With the help of CCTV footage retrieved from the hotel, the accused were identified as Raven Bistro (30) of Theni district and Deepa alias Shenbagavalli (38) of Thiruvanmiyur.
They were picked up from a house in Palavakkam.
According to the police investigation, Shenbagavalli, who used to work as a home guard in Thiruvanmiyur and Neelankarai police stations, separated from her husband and married Raven Bistro, who used to work as a manager of a popular restaurant chain.
While the couple had been running a manpower agency to provide housemaids, they decided to make a quick buck with fake advertisements about job opportunities.
"That's how Minimol became a victim. Shenbagavalli herself picked up the victim from T Nagar and introduced herself as an assistant to Raven Bistro.
The accused booked the hotel room in the victim's name using her Aadhaar number to not get caught by police. They also kept the TV volume high so that the victim's voice is not heard outside," said police.
The stolen jewels were retrieved from the couple and they were remanded on Saturday.