A 30-year-old man was arrested by Kukatpally police for stealing gold rings from prominent jewellery stores by swapping them with imitation pieces. The accused, identified as Merugu Sagar from Ameenpur in Sangareddy, was apprehended following an investigation into thefts reported at CMR and Malabar Gold shopping malls earlier this year.

Police said the offences were reported on January 23 and February 2, when the accused posed as a customer and asked to be shown gold rings. While the sales staff were distracted, he allegedly replaced original rings with rolled gold imitations he had concealed in his shirt pocket, before leaving the stores unnoticed. Cases were registered at Kukatpally police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, while a related case was also booked at Punjagutta police station in connection with a similar offence.