Elderly woman ‘hypnotised’ with spiritual talk, robbed

A 65-year-old woman was relieved of nine sovereigns by a four-member gang who allegedly hypnotised her with a spiritual talk in broad daylight on Wednesday, a few metres away from the city police commissionerate in Vepery.

The victim Sasikala, a resident of a high-rise apartment on EVK Sampath Salai, stepped out to buy fruits on Wednesday morning when the incident happened. Four men allegedly approached her and launched a conversation in Hindi. A few minutes later, she handed over her gold chain and bangles to the men and returned home.

Only when her family members questioned her about the ornament, she realised that she was conned. The woman reportedly informed police that the men spoke about different gods after which she did not know what happened.

Based on her complaint, Vepery police have launched a hunt for the suspects with the help of CCTV footage. Police suspect the elderly woman could have been hypnotised by the conmen.

Man held for stealing kin’s Rs 3 lakh in Tirumangalam

Meanwhile, Tirumangalam police arrested a man who stole a relative’s Rs 3 lakh and spent it lavishly and applied for anticipatory bail. The accused Paramasivan of Tirunelveli was related to the victim Kannan of the same district. While they stayed together at a rented house in Anna Nagar, Paramasivan allegedly stole Rs 3 lakh from Kannan’s bag when he was away on Dec 7. He also vacated the room “upset” over being doubted. However, Kannan on suspicion complained to Tirumangalam police.

Since inquiries revealed that Paramasivan often visited Bengaluru after the cash theft and that he also applied for anticipatory bail from Bengaluru, police secured Paramasivan for interrogation when he admitted to theft. While he paid Rs 1 lakh to a lawyer for anticipatory bail, he spent another Rs 1 lakh lavishly in Bengaluru. The remaining Rs 1 lakh was seized from him before he was remanded in judicial custody.