A 73-year-old jewellery company employee was robbed of a 714-gram gold bar worth around ₹1 crore on a moving city bus in Chennai when he travelled with his family of five, and a woman from Andhra Pradesh was arrested for the sensational theft. Police suspect that the arrested woman was part of a gang that distracted the elderly employee during the journey to steal gold from his bag.
The arrested woman is Sudha alias Sukanya, a native of Andhra Pradesh. A special police team investigating the case traced her and arrested her in Andhra Pradesh before bringing her back to Chennai for questioning. She was later brought before court and remanded in judicial custody. The police suspect at least three other women were involved in the operation and have launched a search to trace them.
The incident involved 73-year-old Varadarajulu of Sidco Nagar working for jewellery shop owner Sundar from Coimbatore. Acting on his employer's instructions, Varadarajulu purchased a 714-gram gold bar from a ready-made textile shop in the Red Hills area. The precious gold was put in a cloth bag and transferred to his handbag for the journey to Coimbatore.
Varadarajulu later boarded a Route 35 city bus from Villivakkam towards Broadway. He was carrying the gold bar in his handbag and apparently had no idea that he had become the target of a suspected organised theft gang. Four women were reported to have walked around him suspiciously and then taken advantage of the situation to steal the gold.
Investigators believe one of the women intentionally bumped into Varadarajulu and fell against him or distracted him while another woman in the group accessed the older passenger’s bag, according to sources. The other women are believed to have positioned themselves around the elderly victim to prevent other commuters from taking note of what was happening. The synchronised movements allowed the theft to take place on the moving bus without raising suspicion quickly.
The victim only realised that something was wrong when he stepped off the bus at Chennai Central. He opened his handbag and found that the gold bar was missing. Confronted by the discovery, Varadarajulu immediately approached the Periamet police and filed a complaint. Because the stolen property was so high-value, investigators were very eager to solve this case.
The investigation grew after police began examining CCTV footage from locations along the route taken by the bus. Surveillance recordings showed four women moving together and acting suspiciously around Otteri and T.P. Park bus stops. Their movements raised the suspicion that they could have been involved in the theft.
A 73-YEAR-OLD MAN, JEWELLER, WAS SEDUCED BY A WOMAN AFTER SHE LITERALLY FELL ON HIM - while three other women distracted the man ESCAPED WITH Rs.1 CRORE WORTH OF GOLD IN CHENNAI DO NOT MISS TO Watch after - 00.48 seconds A woman from Andhra Pradesh was arrested for stealing a 714-gram gold bar worth Rs 1 crore from a jewellery shop employee while he was travelling on a city bus from Villivakkam to Broadway. The theft came to light after the employee got down at Chennai Central and found the gold bar missing from his handbag. The accused was identified as Sudha alias Sukanya, a native of Andhra Pradesh. She was arrested by a special police team investigating the theft and was remanded to judicial custody. Police were searching for three other women who were suspected to have accompanied her. The victim, Varadarajulu, 73, of Sidco Nagar, worked for a jewellery shop owner, Sundar, in Coimbatore. On his employer's instructions, he purchased a 714-gram gold bar from a ready-made textile shop in Red Hills and took it to his house. The next day, Varadarajulu wrapped the gold bar in a cloth bag, placed it in his handbag and boarded a route 35 city bus from Villivakkam to Broadway while travelling to Coimbatore. After getting down at Chennai Central, he checked his handbag and found that the gold bar was missing. Varadarajulu lodged a complaint with Periyamet police. As the stolen gold was valued at Rs 1 crore, the case was transferred to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) for investigation. A special police team examined CCTV footage from locations along the route and identified four women who had moved suspiciously around the Otteri and T.P. Park bus stop areas. Police learnt that the suspects were from Andhra Pradesh and traced Sukanya to the state before bringing her to Chennai for questioning. During the investigation, Sukanya told police that she had not stolen the gold bar. She identified three other women who had accompanied her and told investigators that one of them had taken the gold bar. Police, however, arrested Sukanya and produced her before a court, which remanded her to judicial custody. #CrimeSelvaraj #Chennai #ChennaiPolice #ChennaiUpdates #MTC #Rs1CroreTheft #AndhraPradeshWoman #GoldBar
— A Selvaraj (@Crime_Selvaraj) October 7, 2026
Police gathered information that the suspected members of the group were from Andhra Pradesh. As the investigation continued, the case was transferred to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) for a more detailed investigation because of the gold's estimated value of ₹1 crore.
A special team eventually tracked Sukanya in Andhra Pradesh and brought her to Chennai for questioning. During interrogation, she said she didn’t steal the gold herself. Police sources said she identified the other three women who had allegedly travelled with her and claimed one of them had taken the gold bar.
Despite her denials, investigators arrested Sukanya in connection with the case and brought her before the court. She was remanded in judicial custody. Police are now looking for the other three suspects and are trying to recover the stolen gold bar.
The case is also being watched because of the alleged method used by the group. Elderly people with valuables can be targets of distraction-based theft on public transport. Police are looking into whether the suspected women were involved in similar incidents in Chennai or other cities.
Investigators are still reviewing CCTV footage and other evidence to determine the exact sequence of events inside the bus. The immediate priority is to find the remaining suspects and recover the 714-gram gold bar. Police will investigate whether the group knew about Varadarajulu carrying the precious consignment or if he was just on his way to do so.
Transporting expensive jewellery or gold in public places should be a warning to those who do not live in the area, the police note.
