Mysuru: There is an old adage that says “until there are people who get conned, there will be people to con.” This statement was once again proved right yesterday when two conmen managed to enter a house in the guise of officials from the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC). Not only they hoodwinked the house owner and pretended to take measurements of their house but also managed to steal gold and cash kept safe in drawers and almirahs.

The incident occurred yesterday in broad daylight in Kuvempunagar N-Block, an area that is full of people and vehicles even during the night. A house on the KSRTC Depot Road (in front of Hori Subbegowda Bus Stop) where K.G. Leeladevi, wife of late K.V. Jayadevappa, was staying along with her maid Mangalamma was the target of criminals.

Police said that the conmen would have known that only two women stay in the house and hence became an easy target. The criminals took away gold ornaments including bangles, chains, ear-rings all weighing 280 grams worth about 7,98,000 and Rs.8,000 cash.

Yesterday at around 11.30 am, the conmen told Leeladevi that they were from the MCC and had come to the area to take measurement of their house to issue ‘Property Card.’ An unsuspecting Leeladevi opened the doors to them and initially they measured the outside areas of the house and after gaining the confidence of Leeladevi, they entered the house.

After committing the crime, the duo sped away on their bike and even told Leeladevi that henceforth they need not pay the water bill. While leaving the house, one of the conmen repeatedly turned back to look at Leeladevi and this aroused suspicion in her. She immediately rushed to the bedroom only to find the gold and cash missing.

Narrating the sequence of incident, Leeladevi told the Police that her daughter stayed in the United States of America (USA) and she (Leeladevi) lived with maid Mangalamma. “At 11 am, my nephew’s son Lokesh had come to my house and he took back some gold jewellery from me that his wife Archana had handed over to me sometime back to keep in safe custody. Archana wanted the jewellery as she had to go to a house-warming ceremony. At around 11.30 am, the doorbell of my house rang and when I opened the door, I saw two men standing outside. While one of them was wearing a yellow shirt, the other was wearing a grey shirt,” Leeladevi narrated.

She told the Police that the two men told her that they were from the MCC and had come there to measure the house to issue ‘Property Card’. “I questioned them if they had taken the measurement of the neighbouring house and they told me that the house was locked. Trusting them, I allowed them inside. Later, they took out measuring tapes and notebooks from a bag and started measuring the walls outside the house. Then they told me that they would have to measure the terrace. I followed them and they made notes of terrace measurements,” she said.

After measuring the terrace, the conmen started measuring the inner parts of the house. “While the person who was wearing yellow shirt sat on a sofa, the other person went inside the bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms and storage space and took measurements. They later asked for my Aadhaar Card and water bills and I brought the same from the almirah. They then asked me about rainwater harvesting system and sought to go to the terrace to inspect. I told them that I had pain on my knees and could not climb the steps,” she said.

The conmen pretended to be officers so well that Leeladevi could not suspect anything. They asked maid Mangalamma to fill a bucket of water to test the rainwater harvesting system. “When we were initially on the terrace, we had kept the main door open and we suspect that the conmen would have passed the information to their accomplices who easily entered the house and steal valuables. While we were on the terrace, we saw one of the conmen speaking continuously over phone,” Leeladevi narrated.

After inspecting the terrace for more than 30 minutes giving enough time for their accomplices to steal valuables, the conmen got down and politely thanked Leeladevi and told her that henceforth she need not pay the water bill and the ‘Property Card’ will be despatched to her address.

“Both of them left on their black bike that was parked in front of our house. I got suspicious when the person who was riding pillion repeatedly turned back to look at me. I rushed inside the house only to find the shelves and almirahs open and the valuables and cash missing.

Kuvempunagar Police have registered a case.