KOZHIKODE: The Kozhikode city police received praise for arresting the accused - a cook and her relative - in the theft that took place at writer M T Vasudevan Nair’s house last month, within 24 hours of registering the case.
The City Crime Squad headed by Nadakkavu Inspector N Prajeesh and Town ACP T K Ashraf arrested Shantha, 48, of Karuvissery, who was a cook at the writer’s house for the past five years, and her distant relative Prakashan, 44, a resident of Vattoli.
Around 208g of gold jewellery worth Rs 15 lakh, including diamond-studded earrings and an emerald-studded locket, kept in a locker, were stolen between September 29 and 30 from the writer’s house on Kottaram Road, Kozhikode.
The family learnt about the theft when the almirah was checked recently. MT’s wife S S Saraswathy lodged a complaint with Nadakkavu police on Friday.
The investigation team received clues that the crime might be carried out by someone close to the family.
On the instructions of North Zone IG K Sethuraman, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Kozhikode District Police Chief T Narayanan, with Ashraf in charge of it. Fingerprint and scientific experts reached the spot and collected evidence.
Since the lock of the house was not broken and the cupboard was opened using a key, which the family kept in a particular place, the police confirmed the burglars were not likely to be regular criminals.
“On September 30, when the family members opened the cupboard’s locker, it was confirmed that the jewellery had been stolen,” said Ashraf.
The City Crime Squad prepared a separate list of people to be interrogated and those to be under surveillance.
The probe was conducted at multiple levels. A team headed by Chemmangad Inspector Kiran checked the details of those outside the district, who were in the list. Investigation was carried out in various areas of Palakkad, including Kudallur, Pattambi, Srikrishnapuram, and Thathamangalam, the writer’s hometown.
Meanwhile, during interrogation, the team felt something unusual in Shantha’s behaviour. They conducted a secret investigation on Shantha, and subsequently the thefts committed by the accused were revealed by Saturday evening.
Later, police took Prakashan into custody and quizzed him. During questioning, both of them confessed to the police that they had sold gold several times at a jewellery shop in Kammath Lane, Kozhikode. Shantha was taken into custody on Sunday morning from her house.