CCTV camera catches regular lingerie thief, turns out to be a ‘godman’

CHENNAI: Women residents of Tondiarpet had been flummoxed: Many of their undergarments have been missing from the terraces. A high court lawyer who lives in the locality finally solved the mystery on Monday when he handed over CCTV footage showing a self-styled godman in the locality lifting lingerie from clotheslines. Vijayakumar, 57, the saffron-clad man who roamed the streets at night, is now in prison.

An investigation officer said Vijayakumar had a psychological problem. “On questioning, he told us that he got a kick out of stealing the undergarments and wearing them,” an investing office said. He confessed to police that he had been stealing from the locality for a year. The XV metropolitan magistrate court in George Town sent him to jail.

Vijayakumar, who did puja in a neighbouhood temple and posed himself as a godman, lived with his wife and a son on Murugesan Street in Tondiarpet. After his arrest, police raided his house and found several bundles of inner garments dumped in one of the rooms. His wife said she had no inkling about her husband’s fetish. Police inquired in the neighbourhood and out came a flurry of complaints of missing inner garments. Several women said they had lost their lingerie, but never bothered to complain. “Some said they thought it would have been swept away by winds,” said a policeman.

When it became too regular, however, some decided to find out who was behind it. Sasikumar, a Madras high court lawyer, set up a CCTV camera on his terrace after his family members complained of the same problem. Soon he had the answer to the common problem in the neighbourhood.

Some neighbours told police on Monday that they had seen Vijayakumar roaming the streets at odd hours, but did not complain as they were not sure if he was behind the theft. After Sasikumar caught him on camera, however, many came forward with complaints. Sasikumar passed on the footage to police and soon the godman heard policemen knock on his door.

“He did not hide anything, maybe because he knew we had the visuals showing him in the act,” said a policeman. “He confessed immediately and we recovered a lot of undergarments from his house.”

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