Iranian couple held for stealing over Rs 1 lakh from post offices in districts of Tamil Nadu

MADURAI: An Iranian couple was arrested on Saturday for allegedly stealing a total of Rs 1,08,000 from two post offices in the Virudhunagar and Madurai districts. In the first incident, the couple approached staff at a post office in Virudhunagar's Arupukottai town and claimed they wanted to exchange dollars. When the postal employee was explaining to the woman that the foreign cash exchange facility was not available there, the man barged into an office room.

"When Vanitha went to ask him to leave the room, the woman suspect stole Rs 84,000 from a drawer. The staff hadn't noticed the robbery then. After the couple left, Vanitha checked the drawers out of suspicion and found the cash missing," police said.

Similarly, the couple stole Rs 24,800 from a post office at T Kallupatti in the Madurai district after diverting the attention of officials on November 22. "However, when they tried to stage a similar robbery in the Perambalur district, they were caught red-handed. The suspects were identified as Magathi (38) and her husband Mainu (41). They had reached India from Iran on tourist visas, which had already expired. We have shifted them to a special camp in Tiruchy after intimating officials of departments concerned," the police added.