Fear of arrest? Thief returns stolen ornaments and leaves apology note for family

GURUVAYUR: In a surprising turn of events, a thief who stole 10 sovereigns of gold ornaments from a house in Ariyannur has returned eight sovereigns along with an apology letter. The gold was found yesterday morning in a bag behind the house, accompanied by a note written on white paper.

The letter read: "Two sovereigns have been sold, the rest of the jewellery is here. Please withdraw the case. Sorry, sorry, sorry." Following the discovery, the family alerted the police, who took the ornaments and the letter into custody.

The theft occurred last Thursday night at the residence of Pokkakkillath Kunhumuhammad. The family, including Kunhumuhammad, his daughter Dr Bushra, son-in-law Dr Abubacker Rafi, and their two children, only discovered the theft on Saturday morning. Dr Bushra realised the jewellery, including two necklaces, two bangles, and three sets of earrings, was missing when she opened the cupboard to prepare for a trip. Everything except for one necklace and a set of earrings was returned yesterday.

The entire act of theft was captured on CCTV. The footage showed the thief wearing a red t-shirt and trousers, carrying out the robbery without covering his face.

Why was the gold returned? The police suspect that the thief returned the eight sovereigns out of fear of being caught. After the theft was reported, the CCTV footage was circulated, and a formal complaint was lodged. Since the thief did not mask his face, investigators believe he is someone familiar with the area or a local resident who realised that his identification was inevitable.