Chennai: After losing a huge sum of money in online rummy, a 50-year-old woman staged an elaborate house break-in drama, saying she had been gagged, sedated and robbed of 25 sovereign of gold jewellery. Initially everyone believed her version of events as she was found unconscious, gagged and tied to the cot on Thursday morning.
The woman, Shanthi, 50, a resident of Vishwanathan Street, Karambakkam, was living with her daughter Sandhana Lakshmi, 28, and son-in-law Sivamurugan, 30, in a rented house.Two floors of the house were also rented out to others. On Thursday night, after dinner, they retired to their rooms as usual. On Friday morning, Sivamurugan woke up and found Shanti unconscious with her hands and feet tied and sedated.
But the ‘case’ fell apart like a pack of cards, as the Valasaravakkam police found no evidence of any forced entry into the house and CCTVs in the neighbourhood did not record any suspicious activity during the night.
When police checked the locker, they found receipts for pledged jewellery, along with messages on Shanthi’s phone about interest being paid for the valuables.
During investigation, police found that her daughter had kept her jewellery in Shanthi’s room. Shanthi had frequently pawned her daughter’s jewellery as she had lost a lot of money in online gambling. She also helped her son, who had outstanding debts.
“Fearing that her daughter would notice the missing jewellery before a relative’s wedding on Sept 5, Shanti staged the robbery. She took extra blood pressure pills, gagged herself with a cloth, and tied her hands with a towel,” a police officer said.
Police are questioning Shanthi, who has since been hospitalised.

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