Bhubaneswar, Aug 16: Police today arrested a 33-year-old saleswoman of a prominent jewellery shop in the city for allegedly stealing gold ornaments worth Rs 80 lakh from the shop for over six months.

The police have recovered around 900 grams of ornaments and Rs 2 lakh cash from the accused and one of her accomplices identified as Puspa Ranjan Sahu, a goldsmith. The two accused have taken loans from various banks by mortgaging the stolen ornaments, preliminary investigation by the police has revealed.

The police said Ranjita Nayak, who had been working as an employee of the shop for 12 years, allegedly stole the ornaments, especially bangles, in phases. “She worked at one of the counters. As she had been working at the shop for a long period, no one suspected her,” said inspector in charge of Kharavela Nagar police station Nihar Ranjan Pradhan.

The theft came to light during a verification of stock kept in various counters of the shop. Later, the shop owner lodged a police complaint on August 11. The police screened the CCTV footage of the shop located near Master Canteen but were unable to trace the theft as Nayak used to hide the ornaments in her bag.

However, the cops suspected her and she was subjected to interrogation. “She has confessed to the crime, and we later got hold of her associate. They were produced in court today,” said a police official.

Nayak, a Badagada Brit Colony resident, has two younger sisters working at the same shop. “Nayak had disposed of some ornaments through Sahu, a resident of Jankia in Khurda district. Further investigation is on to trace stolen ornaments,” said a police official.