Housewife held for 14 lakh jewellery theft

Pune: The South Mahalunge MIDC police have arrested a 38-year-old housewife from Talegaon Dabhade for allegedly stealing gold jewellery worth Rs 13.87 lakh from the house of her daughter's friend in Mahalunge on April 22.A resident of Khed taluka lodged a complaint after discovering the theft. A police team led by senior inspector Vijay Dhamal launched a probe and traced the suspect using CCTV footage. The entire stolen jewellery has been recovered.Assistant inspector Bhaksar Pulli said there were no signs of forced entry, leading police to suspect the involvement of a known person. "We collected CCTV footage and conducted local inquiries. A boy from the neighbourhood said he had seen a woman near the complainant's house on the day of the theft," Pulli said.The footage showed a woman near the house, and when it was shown to the complainant, he identified her as his friend's mother, who had visited his home earlier. Police then detained her from her residence in Talegaon Dabhade.During questioning, the woman confessed to the crime. "She said she needed money to build a house. She was aware of the jewellery and had made a duplicate key. She committed the theft when the complainant was away at work," the officer said.