Kasaragod: Two women from Mumbai, on the run after allegedly stealing 150 gm of gold jewellery from a Kozhikode jeweller, were arrested in Kanhangad.
The arrested women — Shradha Ramesh alias Firddha (37) from Samarth Nagar, in Jogeshwari, and Salma Khadar Khan (42) from Ranjugandh Nagar in Wadala — were Telugu speakers but longtime residents of the metropolis, said Hosdurg Station House Officer, Inspector P Ajith Kumar.

The women were wanted by the Nallalam Police Station in Kozhikode after Suresh Babu, a jewellery maker from Cheruvannur, filed a complaint of theft against them. Suresh Babu said Shradha knew his employee Haneefa from Dubai, where they worked together.

The women were wanted by Nallalam Police in Kozhikode after Suresh Babu, a jewellery maker from Cheruvannur, filed a theft complaint against them.

Suresh Babu told Onmanorama that Shradha knew his employee Haneefa from Dubai, where they had worked together.

On Thursday, March 13, Shradha and Salma arrived in Kozhikode by train, allegedly under the pretext of checking jewellery designs for a shop they planned to open in Mumbai. They claimed they could make a profit of ₹60,000 by selling 200 gm of gold jewellery there.

Around 1 pm, Haneefa took them to his room at Rahiman Bazaar in Cheruvannur, to show the designs. The room also served as a stockroom for finished jewellery. "I accompanied them but left after some time," said Suresh Babu. Later, when Haneefa briefly stepped out to use the washroom, the women allegedly fled with six jewellery packets meant for different clients. They also took his phone.

Haneefa first searched for them at the bus stop and the railway station. Unable to find them, he borrowed a phone and called his employer.

Suresh Babu rushed to the railway station and filed a complaint with the railway police. He was asked to go to the regular police. "I went to Panniyankara Police Station but they told me Rahiman Bazaar fell under Nallalam Police Station limit. So I went there," he said.

Nallalam Police immediately alerted all district police chiefs, particularly in Kannur and Kasaragod, and circulated a passport-sized photo of Shradha.

While Kannur police conducted checks along NH 66, the highway to Mumbai, they found no trace of the women. They were told the suspects might be travelling in a bus.

In Kasaragod, Hosdurg police set up the checkpoint at South Kanhangad, where the road splits into the coastal and national highways. "But we decided to check buses and cars, too," said Inspector Ajith Kumar.

Around 8.45 pm on Thursday, officers noticed a taxi with Kozhikode registration moving smoothly past the checkpoint and taking the coastal highway through Kanhangad’s commercial area.

Sub-inspector Varun flagged the vehicle, and a police team led by DySP Babu Peringeth and Inspector Ajith Kumar intercepted it at Puthiyakotta, ending the women's getaway after just 170 km. "One of the women matched the photo we had, so we took them to the station," Ajith Kumar said.

A search by female officers led to the recovery of six jewellery packets. "The packets had numbers and names indicating they were meant for someone else," the officer said.

The women had hired a taxi driven by Vinu, saying they needed to reach Mangaluru International Airport. The driver told police that they had paid ₹2,000 for fuel and agreed to settle the fare upon reaching the airport. "He wasn’t aware of the situation," the inspector said.

In their defence, the women told police they had paid Rs 18 lakh for the jewellery but left in a hurry because Haneefa’s behaviour made them feel unsafe. "However, we also found Haneefa’s phone with them — it was switched off," Hosdurg SHO Ajith Kumar said. "They had no explanation for it."

Friday morning, Nallalam police arrived in Kanhangad and took the women into custody.

At Nallalam station, Suresh Babu was waiting when the women arrived. Sticking to their story, they told him they had given Haneefa ₹18 lakh, making him laugh. "The jewellery weighs only 150 gm — it’s nowhere near ₹18 lakh," he said.

When their lie fell apart, they pleaded with Suresh Babu to withdraw the complaint. "I told them I’m in bigger trouble. The jewellery was meant for immediate delivery, and now I’ll have to wait at least a month for the court to release it," he said.