Bengaluru: A visit to a private hospital for surgery ended in distress for a couple after their gold and silver ornaments, estimated to be worth Rs 9.7 lakh, were stolen from the hospital ward last week. Acting swiftly on the complaint, Hennur police have arrested a hospital staff member and are making efforts to recover the stolen gold ornaments.According to the complaint, a 41-year-old resident of Yelahanka stated that he accompanied his wife to a private hospital on Hennur-Bagalur Main Road on May 1, for her surgery scheduled the next day. Just before being shifted to the operation theatre on the morning of May 2, nursing staff instructed her to remove all the gold ornaments. She then carefully placed her gold mangalya chain weighing 65 grams, a pair of gold earrings weighing 9 grams, and silver anklets weighing 10 grams into a handbag and stored it inside the ward’s wardrobe. The couple’s relief after the surgery quickly turned into shock after the ornaments were found to be missing, when Kumar checked the wardrobe around 2.45pm.With no signs of forced entry, suspicion fell on individuals with access to the ward, including hospital staff. Kumar immediately informed the hospital management about the theft and later approached police.A senior police officer said a case was registered and during investigation, police found that a newly-joined woman staff member had stolen the ornaments. She has been taken into custody, and efforts are on to recover the ornaments, so her name cannot be disclosed at this stage, he said
