Kamal Ghorui
Bhubaneswar: Thieves returning stolen articles to their rightful owners suo moto is rare. Staff at the govt-run Boyanika handlooms outlet in Angul district were in for a surprise when they discovered that several high-value saris, stolen last month from their store, had reappeared, neatly packed in parcels. Altogether 25 saris, valued at Rs 7.18 lakh, had been stolen on April 11 by a group of well-dressed women, who visited the showroom in the afternoon.According to the FIR lodged at Angul police station, the women examined several sarees but bought only a kurta worth Rs 1,400. Later, the staff discovered that 25 saris were missing. CCTV footage revealed the women concealing the saris under their clothes before leaving.Boyanika lodged a police complaint the same night, and shared the CCTV footage with police authorities for identification of the thieves. The videos soon went viral on social media, prompting a manhunt.On Saturday, however, Boyanika staff received a surprise. A large courier packet containing 24 of the 25 stolen saris reached their store. “We were pleasantly surprised to find the saris returned,” said store manager Rashmi Ranjita Pattnaik.Adding to the unusual turn of events, one of the suspects reportedly called a Boyanika employee to apologize. “The caller, a woman from Telangana, obtained our staff member’s number from the kurta purchase bill. She requested withdrawal of the complaint, saying the viral video had caused embarrassment in their locality,” a staff member said, adding “We suspect that the women returned the saris apprehending arrest and further embarrassment.”Despite the restitution, police made it clear that returning stolen goods does not absolve the crime. “Even though they returned the saris, legal action will be taken as per law,” said IIC, Angul police station, Prakash Chandra Majhi.
