Hyderabad: A 32-year-old female house burglar has been arrested by Medchal police for her involvement in 12 cases. Chenchu Lakhsmi alias Gaddam Lakshmi Godavari alias Gundla Pochi started burglaries from the age of 14 while working as a daily wage worker. She adopted techniques from her mother Gaddam Chennamma. As she was skilled in climbing trees and walls she was given the name Chenchu Lakshmi by her childhood friends.
When she was arrested in 2004 she tried to climb the Chanchalguda women prison’s wall which is around 12 feet in height. After this incident prison authorities increased the height of the prison wall.
So far, she is involved in around 150 offences in Asifnagar, Humayunnagar, Langer Houz, Nallakunta, Malakpet, Kulsumpura, Trimulgherry and Bowenpally police station areas in Hyderabad and in Chandanagar, Uppal, Malkajgiri, Rajendranagar, Samshabad, Narsingi and Sanathnagar police station areas in Cyberabad and Ramachandrapuram in Medak district.
She was jailed nearly 10 times in several cases. Special teams under the supervision of Pet Basheerabad ACP S. Ashok Kumar and Cyberabad crimes ACP T. Usha Rani caught Chenchu Lakshmi recently at the Medchal Railway station and recovered worth gold ornaments worth Rs 7 lakh. Both the ACPs told the media that she was arrested in 12 cases.
Lakshmi’s modus operandi is to find out locked houses during the day and burgle them at night. If she is sure that there will be no trouble she will steal during the day too. She takes only gold and silver ornaments and does not touch electronic goods or any other gadgets.
In the last four months there were some burglaries in Vinayak Nagar, Umanagar and Venkatra-maiah Colony where a similar similar modus operandi was used.
Special teams studied the offences and set up joint teams comprising law and order and detectives to arrest Chenchu Lakshmi. Now the police is is asking the government to use the Preventive Detention Act against her.
Chenchu Lakshmi started house burglaries when she was a minor and became a hardcore criminal between 2004 and 2009. During this period all police teams including the Hyderabad task force, Cyberabad Special Crimes Team (SCT) and Special Operations Team (SOT) tried to arrest her.
Earlier, she used to stay in Mangar Basti in the city and after the first arrest she started shifting house to esacpe police surveillance. She shifted her residence to Sikh Chauni near Kishanbagh in Old City and Bansilalpet in Secunderabad.
She was released from jail in December 2014 and had promised the prison authorities that she would not rob houses in future and would not return to jail again. As she became a skilled worker in candle making, embroidery and making bakery items, she started a simple life and got married and settled down in Yemmiganur in the Kurnool district of AP.
Sources in Chanchalguda women’s prison said Chenchu Lakshmi, who was brought there on Monday, had changed completely. Others allege the cops are pursuing false cases against her.
“As the police failed to nab Chenchu’s mother Chennamma, they arrested her. The modus operandi of Chenchu Lakshmi and Chennamma are same. She is going to file a petition in the High Court,” the source said. Chanchalguda women prison’s superintendent Basheera Begum told DC that Chenchu Lakshmi was not a difficult prisoner.
“She wakes up early and works hard. She also cleans her barracks and maintains it neatly. She is very active in prisons’ industries,” she said.
She said that under the Mahaparivarthan programme launched by prisons’ DG V.K. Singh, they would try to change Chenchu Lakshmi’s criminal tendencies.
“As per my information she has been jailed five times since 2009. If we find a change in her during counselling we shall provide her job in prisons’ industries after her release,” she said.
