Burglary at Kottayam priest’s house: Son confesses

The son of a Kottayam priest whose house was robbed the other day has confessed to the crime.

Shine Ninan, the eldest son of Fr Jacob Ninan, has admitted to stealing from his own house in the Kooroppada village to solve his financial problems.

Fr Jacob Ninan is the vicar of St Mary’s Bethlehem Church, Thrikothamangalam.

The crime took place on Tuesday evening when Fr Ninan and other family members went to the church. The priest had reported that 50 sovereigns of gold and Rs 80,000 was stolen.

The cops recovered the entire amount from a shop next to the house that is managed by Shine Ninan.

A part of the stolen gold, weighing about 27 sovereigns, placed in a container, was found buried behind the shop.

The police suspected the crime to be an insider job as the burglar had left behind other ornaments, including what now turns out to be belonging to the accused’s wife and child.

Moreover, almost 21 sovereigns of gold was recovered from the premises. It was lying scattered, which led to the suspicion that it wasn’t done by professionals. The police assumed that the goods had slipped from the burglar’s hands while leaving in a hurry.

As the burglary took place between 4.15 pm and 6.15 pm, when the family regularly went out for prayers, the police had narrowed down the suspects to family members.

It is understood that Shine Ninan confessed to the crime without offering any resistance.