In a shocking case from India's tech capital, a 46-year-old professor from a private college in Bengaluru has been arrested for allegedly stealing gold ornaments and cash from wedding venues. The woman, identified as Professor Revathi, resorted to crime due to mounting financial pressures from her son's education and her husband's cardiac treatment.
The Descent into Crime: A Professor's Desperate Acts
The Bengaluru City Police announced the arrest on Tuesday, following an investigation that began in late November. The chain of events started when a complainant approached the Basavanagudi police station on November 25. The victim reported that a 32-gram gold chain and an artificial collar chain had been stolen from her bag at a wedding hall in Basavanagudi two days prior, on November 23.
Police swiftly registered a case and began examining CCTV footage from the venue. The evidence led them to Revathi, a resident of K R Puram who worked as a Kannada professor. On December 1, the police arrested her at her house and secured 12 days of police custody for further interrogation.
Confession and Recovery of Stolen Gold
During questioning, Professor Revathi confessed to the theft at the Basavanagudi wedding hall. She revealed a wider pattern of crime, admitting to committing similar thefts at two other marriage halls within the Basavanagudi police limits and also at wedding venues in other districts of Karnataka.
Seemant Kumar Singh, the Commissioner of Bengaluru City Police, stated that the accused disclosed she had stored the stolen jewellery at her home. Furthermore, she and her husband had taken a gold loan by pledging the stolen ornaments at a bank in Kadubeesanahalli.
Acting on this information, the police conducted searches between December 2 and December 12. They successfully recovered 262 grams of gold jewellery, valued at approximately Rs 32 lakh (Rs 32,00,000), from her residence and the bank where it was pledged.
The Motive: Family Financial Crisis
The investigation uncovered a tragic motive behind the professor's criminal activities. Police officers confirmed that Revathi's husband suffers from serious cardiac issues, requiring ongoing medical treatment. Compounding this financial strain were the increasing costs associated with her son's education.
Trapped between these two significant personal burdens, the professor allegedly chose to pose as a relative of the bride or groom at crowded wedding functions. Using this guise, she would gain access to private areas and steal gold ornaments, cash, and other valuables from bags and belongings.
This case highlights a severe socio-economic predicament, where an educated professional felt compelled to turn to theft to manage family healthcare and education expenses. The police have now filed appropriate charges, and the legal process is underway.
