64-yr-old former school teacher held for stealing gold jewellery in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The Bengaluru police have arrested a 64-year-old former school teacher for allegedly stealing 78 grams of gold worth Rs 8 lakh at a jewellery fair recently.

The suspect has been identified as Zahira Fathiema, a resident of Udayagiri in Mysuru, according to the police. Fathiema had multiple heart-related ailments.  

She was caught red-handed on March 3 at a gold fair held at a prestigious hotel on Race Course Road while attempting the theft.

Fathiema was a school teacher in Saudi Arabia before the Covid-19 pandemic. She returned to India after her husband's death in 2019 and began living alone in Mysuru.

According to the police, she resorted to stealing to pay for her heart medication.

An investigator said that Fathiema’s thefts came to light when a city-based jeweller filed a complaint, alleging that she had stolen a diamond bracelet and gold bangles.

The incident occurred on January 18 at a three-day jewellery fair in Rajajinagar.

Fathiema was seen sneaking out valuables from the venue. Despite extensive searches, she was not arrested at the time, but the police suspected that she targeted jewellery fairs exclusively.

“On March 3, a similar fair was organised at a prestigious hotel in central Bengaluru. Anticipating her presence, we deployed officers at the venue. She was indeed there, and we caught her,” the investigator told DH.

The police said Fathiema had come across an advertisement for a jewellery fair on Facebook and contacted the number provided in the post. She was subsequently added to a WhatsApp group that shared updates about such fairs. Using information from the group, she planned her thefts.

The Subramanyanagar police recovered the gold bangles and diamond bracelet from her house, while the remaining stolen valuables were confiscated from a jeweller in Mysuru.

A Bengaluru court has remanded Fathiema to judicial custody.