The Thousand Lights police on Tuesday arrested two women who stole gold jewellery and valuables from the house of former Union Minister P. Chidambaram at Pycrofts Garden Road, Nungambakkam.
The theft came to light after Nalini Chidambaram, wife of Mr. Chidambaram, returned home and noticed the almirah open on Saturday evening. Murali, manager of the family, lodged a complaint with the police on the theft.
Muthuvel Pandian, Assistant Commissioner of Police, said: “On Sunday, we kept the matter in abeyance following a request from the family. Now we have arrested the two women who stole the valuables, including jewellery, cash and silk sarees, and remanded them in judicial custody.”
The theft was committed nearly 10 days ago by them while sweeping the house. The suspects are Vennila, 45, who resided inside the servant quarters, and her sister Viji used to come daily from outside. They were working with the family for more than 15 years.
On the day of the occurrence, the women reached the first floor of house under the pretext of sweeping the floor. Immediately after entering the room, they covered the CCTV cameras with a cloth and after taking the jewellery and other valuables from the almirah which was open, they removed the cloth.
Their act was captured by the CCTV unit. The family completed a preliminary round of inquiry with them and the duo admitted to the offence, besides agreeing to return valuables.