Couple doubts each other over missing money, they caught the burglar

CHENNAI: A small-time thief almost brought discord in a marriage after his regular break-ins into a house in Ramapuram made the husband and wife doubt each other about spending the cash without each other’s knowledge.

After realising that the suspicion was triggered by an uninvited guest, the couple hatched a plan to catch the intruder red-handed and succeeded. The burglar turned out to be the couple’s neighbour.

V Nallasivam, a cab driver, wife N Chitra and their son Veeramani reside in a rented accommodation at Annai Sathya Nagar in Ramapuram. For the past couple of months, cash kept inside their house was regularly missing. Nallasivam doubted that his wife spent it without his knowledge and vice versa, police said.

“As the missing amount was always a few hundred rupees, the couple didn’t bother much,” a police officer said.

Last Tuesday, Nallasivam kept Rs 5,000, meant to pay the vehicle loan dues, under a pillow and left the house. It was missing when he returned late at night. When he asked Chitra, she claimed ignorance.

Eventually, they realised that they were being robbed and hatched a plan to catch the burglar. Nallasivam asked her to lock the house and leave as usual on Monday while he hid inside. As they expected, the burglar turned up. “He managed to slip inside by picking the lock without breaking it,” said an officer. Nallasivam pounced and nabbed the intruder, who turned out to be his neighbour, Manikandan, a tender coconut seller.

He was handed over to the Royala Nagar police station. Manikandan has been breaking into Nallasivam’s home after the couple left home for work to steal money for liquor, police investigations revealed. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.