Woman, disguised as a man, steals ₹1 cr jewellery from relatives

A woman disguised as a man was arrested for stealing ₹1 crore in jewelry from her relative after locking him in his home in Vasai.

MUMBAI: A woman was arrested on Tuesday for stealing jewellery worth ₹1 crore after disguising herself as a man and locking up the 66 year old victim in his own house in Vasai. The victim was locked up for hours before finally being rescued by his family after they returned on Sunday night.

Woman, disguised as a man, steals ₹1 cr jewellery from relatives

According to the Manikpur police, the accused, Jyoti Bhanushali, 27, a relative of the family, had disguised herself using a beard and scarf. According to the police, Oduj Lakshman Bhanushali, was alone at home on Sunday, as his family were away to celebrate rakshabandhan. The accused pretended to be an acquaintance of Lakshman’s family and was let into their house in the Kishore Kunj building in Shastri Nagar, Vasai west.

The accused first struck up a conversation about available flats to rent in the area and then asked for a glass of water. As Lakshman went into the house, the woman entered under the pretext of needing to use the washroom. According to the police, she then called Lakshman to check a leaking wall in the bathroom and swiftly locked him in once he was inside. Jyoti then fled with a briefcase of jewellery worth ₹1 crore, said the police.

The victim’s son said, “As soon as we arrived on Monday and rescued my father from the bathroom we approached the police.” Based on his complaint, the police registered a case of robbery and began scanning CCTV footage in the nearby areas. The police tracked the robber to the Vasai railway station, where they saw the bearded man enter a public bathroom but could not trace him after that.

The police then showed the CCTV footage to the family and Lakshman’s wife recognised Jyoti’s scarf and identified her as her daughter-in-law’s sister. Having identified the woman, the police tracked her down in Navsari hours after the robbery, arrested her, and brought her to Mumbai on Tuesday.

A police officer from the Manikpur police station said, “The woman had lost her business and decided to rob her relatives as she knew where their jewellery was kept.”