Chennai: A woman and her live-in partner, who robbed bus passengers after offering sedative-laced biscuits and fruits to the victims, were arrested at Tambaram on Wednesday night. The duo, aged 52 and 54 years, had criminal antecedents and came together to make quick money.
The couple was on radar as several complaints of passengers being robbed of their gold chains and rings after being drugged during bus journey were received by police. Janaki from Chromepet and Krithika from Velachery, who were travelling separately on a bus from Vellore, were targeted by the accused.
Another complaint was filed by Naseema, who stated that her 13-gm gold jewellery was stolen while travelling from Kilambakkam to Tambaram on an MTC bus. The jewellery were stolen from the bags of the victims.
Tambaram police checked the CCTV camera footage and identified the accused. Following this, they arrested 54-year-old Rani, a resident of Kalappanaickenpatti in Namakkal district.
Rani said she had handed over the stolen jewellery to her live-in partner Parameswaran, 52, who also travelled with her. She said that Parameswaran would watch over her during their bus rides, ensuring she stayed undetected.
Police said Rani and Parameswaran have previous cases of theft registered against them in various police stations in Dharapuram, Trichy, Palani, and Karur. The couple’s modus operandi involved sitting next to elderly women on buses across Tamil Nadu.
They sprinkled sedatives on fruits like guavas and mangoes, which are sold in local buses, to render victims unconscious and rob them. After stealing the jewellery, they would quickly exchange it for gold coins or sell it to buy new jewellery.
Police have recovered 10 gm of gold from the accused. Both Rani and Parameswaran were remanded in judicial custody.