An elderly woman living alone in Ayanavaram was robbed of gold jewellery and cash after being made unconscious by mixing sleeping pills in payasam, police said on Wednesday.
The victim, Mamalabi, 75, resides alone on the upper floor of her house in Ayanavaram, as her children are married and settled abroad. She had rented out the ground floor of the house to Badrunnisha Begum, 50.
According to police, on January 15, Badrunnisha Begum’s 14-year-old daughter visited Mamalabi and requested her to have payasam. The elderly woman agreed, following which the girl prepared the sweet dish at her house and served it to her.
Soon after consuming the payasam, Mamalabi reportedly lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness the next morning, she found that two gold chains weighing about five sovereigns each were missing from her neck. She also discovered that Rs. 1.50 lakh in cash had been stolen from the house.
Mamalabi lodged a complaint with the Ayanavaram police, who registered a case and launched an investigation. During the probe, police found that sleeping pills had been mixed in the payasam and that the crime was carried out on the instructions of Badrunnisha Begum.
Following this, the police arrested Badrunnisha Begum. Her minor daughter was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and later admitted to a government home.
Further investigation is under way.
