Thief robs 71-year-old woman of jewels

CHENNAI: Living alone in a large, independent house, a 71-year-old woman became prey to an “easy theft”, when she was robbed of 18 sovereigns of gold jewellery at knifepoint, in her bedroom at Abhiramapuram on Saturday.Chitra Venkatraman’s auditor-husband had passed away several years ago and her son and daughter lived in Adyar, where their children could have easy access to their schools, Investigating Officer Venkatesh Kumar told Express. “The elderly woman (Chitra) lived alone in the independent house on Fifth Main Road in Raja Annamalaipuram and took care of her own needs,” the inspector said. It was around 8 pm on Saturday, when an intruder entered the house through the “open front door” and zeroed in on Chitra who was in the bedroom. Brandishing a knife, the youth demanded money from her. “The intruder seems to have been a strange character,” the police officer said. He quoted the thief as telling the old woman that he “wanted money for court”.Pleading with the knife-wielding thief not to harm her, the shocked septuagenarian told him that she did not have money. Instead, Chitra volunteered to give him the gold ornaments that she was wearing and proceeded to remove her bangles and chain. She handed over the jewels, weighing 18 sovereigns, to the thief, who then made a quiet exit.“It was an easy theft… An old woman living alone in an independent house and the front door open,” the inspector said. The police officer added that fingerprints had been lifted from the scene of crime and a special team was questioning several persons in the area.