A 53-year-old man identified as Purushothaman, a resident of Villupuram, was arrested by Chennai Police for stealing cash gifts and valuables from wedding halls in Mylapore and Saidapet.
The arrest followed a complaint filed by Eswari, 60, whose son’s wedding was held on January 26 at a hall on East Mada Street, Mylapore. She had placed a bag containing Rs2 lakh in cash gifts, three sovereigns of gold jewellery, and other valuables in a corner of the hall. When she stepped away to take a family photo, the bag was stolen.
Based on CCTV footage, police identified Purushothaman, who had been crashing weddings to target unattended valuables. During interrogation, he also confessed to stealing Rs57,000 from another wedding on February 2.
Police recovered a total of Rs2.57 lakh in cash and silver items from the accused. They also revealed that Purushothaman has five previous criminal cases, including robbery and theft.
He has been booked and remanded to custody. Authorities are now investigating his involvement in other similar thefts across the city.
