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By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Oct 13: The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal West, today remanded a 37-year-old woman to police custody till October 16 in connection with the alleged theft of gold jewellery worth around Rs 6 lakh from a house at Uripok Polem Leikai on August 25.
Accused Ramina Begum (37), daughter of Md Ajaj Ali of Yairipok Changam-dabi Mathak Leikai, was arrested yesterday by a team of Imphal Police Station and produced before the Court today along with a prayer for police custody remand.
What the APP submits
The Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) submitted that the complainant lodged a written complaint on August 26, stating that the accused, who had been residing in her rented house since June 2026, vacated the premises on August 19 after informing her and obtaining proper acknowledgement.
On August 25, at around 1.30 pm, while the complainant was away at work, the accused allegedly entered her house without her knowledge or permission, trespassed into her room and stole gold jewellery worth around Rs 6 lakh.
During the investigation, examination of CCTV footage revealed a woman with her face covered by a cloth, wearing gloves and carrying an umbrella, entering the complainant's building at around 1.30 pm on August 25.
The woman was then seen taking a key kept on a bed near the staircase and entering the complainant's room.
After about two minutes, she came out and returned the key to the same place.
The woman was subsequently seen leaving the building in a hurry and was identified by other tenants as the accused.
The police team later went to the accused's residence at Yairipok Changamdabi Mathak Leikai but could not find her there.
During enquiries, her father and brother allegedly stated that she had left home six or seven months earlier and that they did not know her whereabouts.
Yesterday, police received information that the alleged accused was at Heibongpokpi Lamshang Khunou.
A police team, accompanied by women police personnel, rushed to the location and arrested her.
The APP submitted that the accused had given a concocted account during interrogation and was not cooperating with the investigation.
Her custodial interrogation was required to ascertain the whereabouts of the stolen gold jewellery.
After hearing the APP and examining the case records, the Court remanded the accused to police custody till October 16 for further investigation.
Meanwhile, the Duty Magistrate, Imphal West, on October 11 remanded a 35-year-old man to police custody till October 16 in connection with the alleged theft of three pairs of gold earrings worth around Rs 11 lakh from Yumnam Leikai Lairembi Maning under Imphal Police Station.
Accused, Rajesh Paul (35), son of Roso Paul of Saiton Nganukon and presently residing at Bamol Leikai Bharmapur Aribam Leirak, was arrested on October 10 by a team of Imphal Police Station and produced before the Court on October 11 with a prayer for police custody remand.
The Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP), appearing for the State, submitted that the complainant lodged a written complaint on October 5, stating that she had mortgaged three pairs of gold earrings worth around Rs 11 lakh on different dates between September 2025 and July 2026.
The APP said that the ornaments were kept in a small box inside a room of her house, which was undergoing repair and construction work ahead of her son's marriage.
However, on October 2, the complainant discovered that the box containing the gold ornaments was missing.
She suspected the accused, a painting mason engaged in the construction work who had access to the room during the relevant period.
During the investigation, police seized a small wooden box, reportedly used to keep the stolen ornaments, from the possession of the accused, the APP added.
During interrogation, the accused reportedly disclosed that he had stolen the gold ornaments on September 24 and subsequently sold them at different jewellery shops, the Prosecutor said.
However, the identities and locations of the shops where the ornaments were sold had not yet been ascertained, and the stolen jewellery remained unrecovered.
The APP submitted that custodial interrogation was necessary to identify the jewellery shops and ascertain their exact locations, and accordingly sought police custody remand.
After hearing the APP and examining the case records, the Court remanded the accused to police custody until October 16.