Maduravoyal police arrested a 21-year-old youth and four of his associates for allegedly duping his 19-year-old girlfriend into stealing 129 sovereigns of gold jewellery from her family home over the past six months before selling the valuables and splurging the proceeds on luxury purchases.

The arrested were identified as H. Karthik, 21, of Shenoy Nagar, Kumaragopal, 20, and Prakash, 22, of Avadi, Ramesh, 47, of Nandanam, and Surya, 28, of Mathur. 

According to the police, the theft came to light after Panneerselvam, 51, a resident of Lakshmi Nagar in Maduravoyal, discovered that 129 sovereigns of gold jewellery kept at his sister-in-law’s house had gone missing. The missing ornaments included 22 sovereigns belonging to him and 107 sovereigns belonging to his sister-in-law. As there were no signs of forced entry, police suspected the involvement of someone known to the family.

The investigation revealed that Panneerselvam’s niece had befriended Karthik while he was working at her house during her Class XII vacation last year. Karthik allegedly told her that his father was seriously ill and needed money for medical treatment. Trusting him, she allegedly began secretly taking gold jewellery and cash from her house in small quantities and handing them over to him over several months.

The police said Karthik and his associates sold the stolen jewellery and used the money to purchase a car, a motorcycle, mobile phones and other expensive items. During the investigation, police recovered about six sovereigns of gold jewellery, ₹50,000 in cash, a mobile phone, a motorcycle and a car from the accused. Further investigation is under way.

Published - July 09, 2026 12:57 am IST