Dressed to Steal, undone by ’big’ belly

Two women caught walking out of store with DVD players under sarees

Dressed to Steal, undone by 'big' belly

Two women caught walking out of store with DVD players under sarees

A B Varghis, the manager of the store E-Zone at Jayanagar 2nd block, where the robbery occurred said, "On the 6th of this month, four members of this group entered the shop to purchase electronic goods. They spent a really long time looking at all the items on display. Then they took three DVD players, hid them under their sarees and left."


CAUGHT IN THE ACT: Suspects Ranjini (left) and Chenni (right) were allegedly caught with DVD players hidden in the folds of their sarees by women guards

Under wraps

On their way out, the metal detector sounded the alarm, but the male security guards did not take it seriously as the detector was not functioning properly at that time and would beep even when innocent shoppers would leave.

"However, C Umarani, the female security guard, got suspicious when she noticed their big bellies and called them back. But the group was a professional one, and they had arranged for a getaway rickshaw. Two women escaped, but Umarani managed to catch the third thief, identified as Ranjani (35). The DVD player fell from her saree. The other guards followed Umarani and caught the fourth woman, Chenni (30) and retrieved another DVD player. But the two thieves escaped with one DVD player worth Rs 5,000."

Varghis also alleged that these women came from Andhra Pradesh and sell the stolen goods there.

E-Zone electronics store in Jayanagar

Big gang suspected

B S Angadi, inspector, Siddapur police station said, "We have arrested and sent them to jail. We think they are professional thieves and are questioning them about other robberies. We will also pick up the other two women.
These women would often wear burqas to avoid people looking at their stomachs where they had hidden the stolen goods. A few months back in Chikkpete, a few women stole fabric from a shop using the same method.

This shows the gang has many members."

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