Salaried thieves descend on Chennai

Chennai: If the city police are to be believed, this festive season seems to have opened up new employment opportunities for women in professional stealing. According to city police, gangs of women thieves are operating for a “salary”.

On Monday, the Kilpauk police stumbled upon a racket involving young women who stole handbags and other valuables from Deepavali shoppers in crowded areas and buses.

Passengers travelling in an MTC bus caught a pregnant woman while stealing '10,000 from a fellow passenger.

The woman, who had came to the city from Salem, was taken to the nearest police station for interrogation but the stolen cash could not be recovered as the woman had already passed it on to one of her associates.

“During interrogation, the woman said that she was a part of a group of women who had been brought to Chennai to steal valuables and then hand over the booty to their bosses.

They were paid Rs 200/day,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity.