Kerala bride’s stolen Rs 22 lakh gold jewellery returns days after wedding night theft

In a case that has left both the family and police puzzled, gold ornaments worth Rs 22 lakh, which mysteriously disappeared from a bride’s home on her wedding night, have been found days later — untouched and intact — near the same residence in Kannur, Kerala.

The jewellery, weighing 240 grams, belonged to Archa, a software developer from Kollam, who had married tech professional AK Arjun on May 1 at his family home in Karivellur, located on the Kasaragod-Kannur border. After the celebrations, Archa had stored her bridal jewellery in a shoulder bag inside a bedroom cupboard. But by 9 PM, the ornaments had vanished.

The family immediately alerted the police, triggering an intensive investigation. A dog squad was deployed, and the police began questioning guests, particularly from the groom’s side. When that yielded no clues, they expanded the probe to Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram to question people on the bride’s side, still coming up empty.

Then, in a surprising twist, on May 7, police found a white cloth bag just two metres away from the house. Inside it were all of Archa’s missing ornaments — bangles, rings, chains, waist belt, and other jewellery — carefully packed, with nothing missing. The quiet return of the jewellery has baffled investigators, who have now collected fingerprints from the items and all family members to identify who may have taken — and returned — the valuables.