Bhind woman steals sister-in-law’s jewellery worth ₹2.5 lakh:Pretended divine possession to escape suspicion; confessed after police’s strict questioning

A woman in Bhind stole her elder sister-in-law’s gold and silver jewellery worth Rs 2.5 lakhs. When suspicion grew, she pretended to be possessed by a local deity to avoid being caught. Police arrested her one and a half months later and recovered all the stolen items. The incident The case took place in Lavan village under Barohi police station in Bhind. The theft happened on 24 October. Jitendra Joshi and his wife, Rakhi Joshi, had travelled from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, to celebrate Diwali at the home of Jitendra’s elder brother, Dharmendra Joshi. Dharmendra’s wife, Preeti Joshi (27), had kept her gold and silver jewellery in a cupboard after the Lakshmi Puja. Rakhi saw the jewellery and became envious. How the jewellery was stolen Late at night, when everyone was asleep, Rakhi opened the cupboard and removed all the jewellery. To make it look like an outsider had entered the house, she scattered things around. She also opened the main gate. At 4 AM, she herself shouted and created noise, claiming there had been a theft. Police investigation begins The police and the forensic team reached the house after receiving the information. They checked the cupboard, the gate and the room, but found no fingerprints of anyone from outside. This made the police suspect someone in the family. During questioning, Rakhi changed her statements several times. She pretended to be ‘possessed’ When the police questioned her strictly, Rakhi started claiming that ‘Lodi Mata’ had possessed her. Because of superstition, several family members supported her claim. The police slowed down the investigation on purpose and began gathering information through village informants. Police receive a new lead About a month later, police received information that Rakhi was speaking to village women about selling old jewellery and getting new ornaments made. This increased suspicion again. The police called her for questioning once more. Confession and recovery This time, under strict questioning, Rakhi broke down and confessed. She admitted that she had stolen the jewellery herself. The police recovered items worth Rs 2.5 Lakhs, including: Police statement Barohi Station House Officer Atul Bhadauria said that suspicion grew because Rakhi kept changing her statements. Her attempt to sell old jewellery confirmed the doubt. Police seized the stolen items and presented her before the court.