A woman who decamped with gold jewellery and cash, under the pretext of telling ‘shastra’, in Baichanahalli extension, in the town a few days ago, was arrested by the police.
Lakshmi (Nagamma), a native of Hiriyuru village in Chitradurga, is the accused.
Lakshmi Devaraju from Baichanahalli had filed a complaint to the police in this connection.
Lakshmi, the accused, had promised the victim of removing all difficulties by performing some ritual.
The accused asked the owner of the house to drop the gold and cash in a steel box. Later, the accused gave a juice laced with a sedative to Lakshmi to drink.
When the victim came under the influence of the sedative and turned drowsy, the accused decamped with 300 grams of gold and Rs 31,000 in cash.
Under the guidance of DySP Shailendra and Circle Inspector Mahesh, Police Inspector Ganesh formed a team to nab the accused, on the basis of CCTV camera footage in the town.
DySP Shailendra has requested the people to be cautious about the inter-district thieves who are targeting innocent people.
Similar instances have occurred in the weekly shandy and in the surrounding villages, he added.