Alappuzha: A day after an elderly woman was brutally attacked inside her house and robbed of nine sovereign gold, the cops have arrested an autorickshaw driver for the crime.
Bijikumar (49), a resident of Thekketil House, Muttam, Cheppad, is accused of attacking 73-year-old Radhamma Pillai (73), a resident of Evoor South near Kayamkulam, around 12.30 pm on Friday.
He barged into the house and stuffed cloth in her mouth before robbing her gold chain and bangles. The woman was beaten up and pushed to the floor. She was badly injured in the incident.
Not his first crime
“He is an auto driver and knew that the woman lived alone. He came to the house on foot, wearing a helmet, after parking his auto some distance away. After committing the crime, he put on the helmet and walked back to the auto before escaping in the vehicle,” police said.
Kareelakulangara Police acted fast and collected CCTV footage from the locality. They managed to identify the accused within hours. Bijikumar admitted to the crime during interrogation.
“The accused earlier attacked another elderly woman, 85-year-old Kusumam, at Cheppad in May. Similarly, he looted a one-and-a-half sovereign gold chain. The woman was his relative,” the police added.
The accused earlier worked as a driver in the American Army base in Kuwait. However, he lost his job during the Covid pandemic. Upon returning, he became an auto driver based in the Choondupalaka Junction in Muttom.
The accused told the cops that he resorted to such crimes to make some quick money due to a financial crisis after losing his job abroad. He targetted elderly women as he saw them as easy victims.
“He claimed he couldn’t manage housing loan, vehicle loan, and the education expense of his children and that the same forced him to take up crime,” a senior police officer said.
The elderly woman is undergoing treatment at a hospital, and she is out of danger. She was living alone after her eldest son went abroad.
