BENGALURU: The death-by-suicide case of a car driver, who blamed his employer for levelling theft charges against him last fortnight, has taken an intriguing turn: the driver’s wife from Kerala has handed over the stolen jewellery worth Rs 1.5 crore to police.
“Initially, everyone thought that the deceased, 43-year-old Zemon Verghese, took the extreme step as he could not bear the humiliation of being accused of jewellery theft. But in a dramatic turn of events, Verghese’s wife has returned the ornaments, stating that it was her husband who had stolen them,” an officer said. Verghese used to work for Gayathri J Gopal, the head of a city-based project management company.
Gayathri had, on August 17, filed a complaint with Pulikeshinagar police stating that gold, diamond and other ornaments weighing 250 grams had gone missing from her residence in Frazer Town.
She named four suspects, including Verghese. Accordingly, police issued notice to the four and summoned them to the station.
However, on August 21, Verghese allegedly hanged himself. A seven-page death note written in Malayalam was recovered from the place. One page was addressed to his wife Nisha Thomas, who lives at Kottayam in Kerala, while another was to the police. In the death note addressed to the cops, Verghese had stated that he was humiliated by the allegations made against him and was, therefore, ending his life. Verghese blamed his employer for the extreme step. After his death, police registered an abetment case as Nisha refused to file a complaint.
Meanwhile, forensic experts discovered that the fingerprints on the jewellery boxes in Gayathri’s house matched with those of Verghese, and the same was conveyed to Nisha.
“Knowing that she was cornered, Nisha returned the stolen ornaments, worth around Rs 1.5 crore. They included materials that Verghese had taken prior to the latest incident. Verghese had also taken foreign currency notes from his employer. Some ornaments have been pledged with a bank in Kottayam and we should bring them back,” an officer said.
When contacted, Gayathri refused to comment on the issue.
