Two held; stolen gold, cash recovered

Chirala: The Chirala police have successfully solved a theft case and recovered 1005 grams of gold and Rs 1.50 lakh in cash that were stolen from a house in the town.

The Bapatla district additional SP, TP Vithaleswar explained on Thursday that they received a complaint from Muvvala Siva Prasad Rao on April 29 that a theft was committed in their home at Puvvada Vari Veedhi in Chirala when he and his wife went to a hospital in Chirala at around 8 PM. The complainant said that they returned home at around 9 PM and found chilli powder scattered on the floor, and noticed that approximately 1005 grams of gold and Rs 150000 in cash had been stolen from the cupboard in the bedroom. The Additional SP said that based on intelligence gathered, Circle Inspector S Subba Rao of Chirala One Town Police Station, along with his team, apprehended two suspects near Poleramma Temple on the outskirts of Kottapalem village at 5:30 PM on Thursday, and recovered all stolen property from them, who were traveling on two scooters. The accused have been identified as Shaik Azad (31) and Patan Muneer (38), both residents of 6th Line, Nawab Pet, Chirala.

Vithaleswar said that their investigation revealed that both suspects had borrowed approximately Rs 800000 each through various online loan applications and were unable to pay their monthly EMIs. To clear their debts, they planned the theft targeting Siva Prasad Rao’s house, as Azad had close relations with the victim’s family and knew they kept valuables at home. The Additional SP said that Azad visited the victim’s house on the evening of April 29, under the pretext of repairing electrical issues, deliberately cut the power, and allowed Muneer to hide inside. When the elderly couple left for the hospital around 8 PM, Muneer looted the valuables and escaped with Azad on their scooters.

Bapatla Superintendent of Police Tushar Dudi has announced rewards for the special team involved in solving the case and recovering the stolen property, including SDPO M Moyin, CI S Subba Rao, WSI G Rajyalakshmi, and other police personnel.