Kannur: Six days after a software developer's entire bridal jewellery -- 240g of gold worth nearly ₹22 lakh -- vanished from her husband’s home on her wedding night, the ornaments mysteriously reappeared in a white carry bag two metres from his house on Wednesday.

The heist and the change of heart of the thief have left Payyannur police baffled. Bangles, bracelets studded with red stones, coin chain, short necklace, earrings, finger rings, chains, waist belt -- not one piece was missing, said Payyannur Sub-Inspector Saneeth C.

The police had been on a wild goose chase, 500km away, tracking down guests who had travelled to Karivellur village, on the Kasaragod-Kannur border, from as far as Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam.

But far from closing the case, the discovery only deepened the mystery. "Now we have to find out who took it," he said. Fingerprint experts have collected samples from the jewellery pieces and from all the family members, said the officer, hinting that the thief could be someone who is already on board.

Archa S Sudhi, a native of Kollam and a software developer with an American credit reporting firm in Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram, married fellow techie A K Arjun at his family home at Paliyeri in Karivellur on May 1.

After the wedding, the guests returned to Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram. Around 6 pm, Archa removed all her bridal gold, placed it in a shoulder bag, and stored it in a cupboard in the first-floor bedroom, said the officer.

Around 9 pm on May 2, when she opened the cupboard, the jewellery was gone, shattering the bride's wedding bliss. She collected herself and approached the police on May 3.

Payyannur Police arrived with the dog squad, and made a list of guests who arrived at Arjun's house. On May 4, they questioned the groom's guests from Kannur. 

"On May 5 and 6, we were in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram, questioning the bride's guests and their friends," said another officer at Payyannur station. "But we did not get any leads and returned disappointed," he said.

On May 7, the investigators decided to knock on Arjun's door once again. "We were making the rounds of the property when we saw a white cloth bag 2m from the house," said Sub-inspector Saneeth.

The find was a relief for the couple -- but the sneaky thief's shadow can still give them a chill.