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Lucknow woman fakes robbery for new phone; caught in her own lies
The jewellery and cash she reported as stolen by two men at gunpoint on Thursday were found in her own kitchen, according to the police
A fascination for a new and expensive phone, coupled with her personal needs, led a woman to stage a fake robbery at her home in the Talkatora area of Lucknow.
The 30-year-old, Babli Yadav, initially told the police on Thursday morning that two masked men had broken into her home in Mehndi Beg Kheda, Talkatora, robbing her of cash and gold valued at lakhs of rupees at gunpoint. However, by the evening, it was revealed that the woman had fabricated the story to finance a new phone. Police discovered the money and jewellery she claimed was stolen hidden in her kitchen, according to additional deputy commissioner of police (West) Vishwajeet Srivastava.
“The matter came to light when the woman, while being questioned, gave different statements to various police officers visiting her residence,” the ADCP said, adding that legal action is being taken against her for providing false information about the robbery.
“The woman was the sole planner of the fake incident and specifically chose the early hours when most of her family members were not home, as they leave for their jobs as newspaper hawkers at that time,” said SHO Talkatora Kuldeep Dubey.
On Thursday, the Talkatora police received information about the alleged theft of jewellery and cash from a house in Mehndi Beg Kheda, where the woman claimed that while she was alone at home, two unknown men entered and looted jewellery and cash from a cupboard. Based on this information, an FIR was registered under Section 309 (4) of BNS, and a special team was immediately formed to investigate the incident. The crime branch and surveillance team also arrived at the scene to begin their inquiry.
The woman had stated that one of the assailants had strangled her mouth and throat, while the other held a gun to her temple and threatened to shoot her before escaping with approximately two lakh rupees in cash and jewellery worth about five lakhs from the cupboard.