A mother-daughter duo of a well-educated family was arrested for stealing saree and such other items from malls in city on Wednesday. The Saheed Nagar police, armed with video clips, managed to catch them.The arrested mother-daughter duo, identified as Kusuma Prusty (50) and her dentist daughter Dr Kalyani Prusty (28), both staying at Gayatri Vihar under the Khandagiri police station, were forwarded to court.
Twin City Commissioner of Police Dr RP Sharma told reporters that stolen items worth about Rs 2 lakh were seized during a raid at the residence (Plot No 44/346) of Dr Prusty. A motorcycle and a mobile phone were also seized during the raid, he said. Dr Kalyani Prusty is serving as a dentist in a city-based private hospital while her father happens to be a bank officer.
The act of the duo came to light after one Puspaja Dhal, owner of Manisha Boutique of Saheed Nagar, had lodged an FIR at the Saheed Nagar police station on June 11 alleging that two women had come to her shop at 8 pm on June 10 posing as customers and stole three sarees and two suit pieces from the shop on the pretext of purchasing articles.
After getting complaint, cops swung into action and zeroed in on the mother-daughter duo after going through CCTV footage of the shop. "The sophisticated look of the accused ladies did not arouse any suspicion when they entered a shop. They would then ask for different kinds of sarees and other products and manage to divert attention of staff," said Commissioner.