An unidentified youth, claiming that he was a village volunteer, had drugged an elderly couple at their residence and decamped with gold ornaments at Thattivaripalle village of Kurabalakota mandal in the district on Friday, which came to light on Saturday.
According to information, a stranger approached the elderly couple – Achhamma and Venugopal (in their 60s) – at their residence late on Friday evening. He had reportedly informed the couple that their fingerprints were urgently needed and to be updated in the village records, failing which they would lose the government benefits, if any.
After collecting their fingerprints on a white paper, the stranger had told them that the imprints were not clear. He had reportedly applied a liquid to their fingers and sought them to drink a juice-like substance, claiming that it would help in getting clear fingerprints.
After the couple fell unconscious, the stranger had reportedly relieved the woman and her husband of the gold ornaments, followed by a frantic search of the house for valuables, before disappearing from the spot, locking the door from outside.
An hour later, the couple’s daughter-in-law, Sasikala, returned home after collecting fodder for the cattle. Finding the house locked but seeing the couple on ground inside, the woman got panicky and alerted the neighborhood.
The unconscious couple were rushed to the Government Area Hospital at Madanapalle, and were declared safe. Back to senses around midnight, the couple narrated the sequence as to how they were subjected to fraud.
The area police inspected the village and took up investigation. The CC camera footages at vital junctions surrounding the village was kept under watch.
