Woman swaps elderly’s gold earrings in Delhi, arrested

A 50-year-old woman was arrested for duping an 80-year-old lady by swapping her gold earrings with fake ones in Chandni Mahal, Central Delhi, the police said on Monday.

According to the police, a PCR call regarding the theft of a gold earring was received on October 30 at the Chandni Mahal police station. The complainant, an elderly woman, reported that the accused had first visited her home on October 27, claiming to have known her late daughter. After befriending her, the woman returned the next day.

During the visit, the accused told the elderly woman that one of her earrings had loosened. On the pretext of tightening it, she allegedly swapped the gold earring with an artificial one and left. The police carried out manual and technical surveillance and checked CCTV cameras.

Investigators observed that the suspect’s distinctive gait, along with her eyes and a portion of her forehead visible through her hijab, matched the description provided by the complainant, who suffers from low vision. After thorough analysis and local enquiries, the team identified the woman, who was apprehended on November 15.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to committing the crime for monetary gain. The accused told the police that she had noticed the elderly woman’s gold earrings during her initial visit and returned the next day with an artificial pair of the same size and design to execute the swap, taking advantage of the victim’s poor eyesight.