Indian police get to the bottom of necklace case - Update

An Indian thief forced to eat dozens of bananas as a laxative to yield a gold necklace he had swallowed, produced the booty on Sunday after he was fed chicken, rice and bread, police said.

Sheikh Mohsin, 36, grabbed the 45,000-rupee (1,110 dollar) necklace from a businessman’s wife in the eastern city of Kolkata as she shopped for toys on Saturday.

He denied the crime but a stomach X-ray revealed the necklace and police kept him on a diet of bananas, as advised by doctors, in the hope of recovering the necklace.

But when 50 bananas did not do the trick, police fed him a hearty meal that included rice, chicken and local bread, said city police deputy commissioner Gyanwant Singh.


Photo found at Flickr.

“Police were anxious and Mohsin’s stomach was X-rayed twice during the day. He excreted the necklace in his fifth attempt during the afternoon,” Singh told AFP.

A sweeper was paid 50 rupees (one dollar) to fish out the necklace, he said.

“Mohsin was asked to wash the necklace, which would be shown in court,” Singh said.

A tired Mohsin’s plea for release was rejected and he will appear in court later today, Singh said.