Patients beware! Thieves posing as hospital staff steal jewels

MYSURU: The change in modus operandi of miscreants is posing a challenge to city cops as tracking them down is becoming increasingly difficult.
Recently, a man dressed in a suit drove away a new SUV from a service station and it took police a month to nab the vehicle lifter. Now, cops are hot on the heels of another miscreant who stole jewels from patients in both government and private hospitals.
Recently, a youth posed as a "technician" and conned a female patient in a private hospital to part with her gold chain. The woman, who hails from HD Kote, was admitted with high fever. Hospital authorities said he entered the hospital posing as her relative and committed the crime. The entire robbery was recorded by CCTV cameras and the footage has been handed over to investigating cops.
It's not the first time such an incident has been reported in a Mysuru hospital. Earlier, patients at Cheluvamba and Krishnaraja government hospitals lost their valuables to men who came in the guise of hospital staff.
Devaraja police had arrested a man for taking away valuables from a patient he had brought in. But another person who posed as hospital staff and took away jewels from a patient is still at large. An investigating officer said it appears that he same criminal is involved in both offences. "We're keeping a watch at hospitals," he said.
KR Hospital medical superintendent Dr BL Nanjundaswamy said two incidents of patients losing their valuables have been reported in the past four months. "We've stepped up our vigil, installed CCTV cameras and appointed security guards to look out for suspicious persons. The incidents happened after dusk and due to negligence of patients. We've put up caution boards and asked patients to be alert," he said.