The Vijayawada City Police under the NTR District Police Commissionerate solved a gold theft case in just 24 hours, arresting 27-year-old Kovelakonda Niraja for stealing gold ornaments weighing 125 grams, valued at approximately Rs 18 lakh. The stolen items were successfully recovered from the accused.
West Zone Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police G Ramakrishna briefed the media at One Town Police Station, detailing how the incident occurred during the Maha Kumbhabhishekam celebrations at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam atop Indrakeeladri on March 6. Niraja allegedly stole the gold ornaments from the handbag of Kakarla Sushma, a devotee from Hyderabad, after completing darshan and exiting through the Ravi Chettu route.
Special police teams launched an immediate investigation using CCTV footage, technical surveillance, digital intelligence tools, phone records, UPI payment trails, and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). By analyzing the movements of devotees and tracking the suspect’s digital footprint, officers quickly identified and apprehended Niraja, who has links to previous theft cases under Section 379 of the IPC in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.
The swift recovery was credited to coordinated efforts under the supervision of West Zone ACP NSVK Durga Rao, One Town Inspector B Gunaram, Crime SI K Raghunath, SI S Bhagya Sri, and their teams. ADCP Ramakrishna emphasized that technical investigation and field intelligence were key to the rapid resolution of the case.
