In a major breakthrough that has brought closure to one of Malkangiri’s most sensational crimes, police have arrested a husband-wife duo who executed a daring gold robbery in 2021 by drugging an entire household with poisoned sweets.
The accused — Madasu John Paul and his wife Inturi Aruna, residents of a village under Kakani police station in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh — were apprehended from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. During the operation, Malkangiri police recovered 200 grams of gold, two country-made pistols, a laptop, nine live cartridges, and a motorcycle from their possession.
In early 2021, the couple arrived in Malkangiri posing as tenants from Andhra Pradesh looking for a rented house. They approached local gold trader Subash Patil, who agreed to let them stay in one of his properties. For nearly three months, they lived as seemingly ordinary tenants, carefully studying the family’s routine and building trust.
Their plan culminated on March 2, 2021. John Paul distributed sweets to the Patil family and neighbours, claiming he had landed a new job. The sweets were laced with a sedative. Soon after consuming them, everyone fell unconscious.
Seizing the opportunity, the couple broke into the house and looted around 700 grams of gold, ₹2 lakh in cash, and other valuables before disappearing into the night.
The case became one of the most discussed unsolved crimes in the district. The couple proved extremely elusive — they avoided using mobile phones entirely and moved frequently, leaving almost no digital footprint. Despite multiple strategies by Malkangiri police, no breakthrough came for years.
The turning point arrived when the Cyber Cell traced their location to Kanyakumari. A Malkangiri police team reached the spot, arrested the duo, and brought them back for interrogation. Further searches led to the recovery of the gold and arms.
Speaking at a press conference, SP Vinod Patil H, along with SDPO Dibyajyoti Dalei and IIC Regan Kindo, detailed the operation and praised the persistence of the investigation team. Police also revealed that the couple faces multiple criminal cases in Andhra Pradesh.
The arrest has been hailed as a significant success for Malkangiri police, proving that even the most carefully planned crimes eventually catch up with the perpetrators.
