A CCTV footage of Boyanika saree showroom

Bhubaneswar: It is rare for thieves to spontaneously return stolen items to their rightful owners. Employees at the government-run Boyanika Handloom Outlet in Angul district were left astonished when they discovered that several high-value sarees stolen from their store last month had resurfaced, neatly packed in parcels. A total of 25 sarees worth Rs 7.18 lakh were stolen by a group of well-dressed women who had come to the showroom on April 11 afternoon.According to the FIR lodged at Angul police station, the women examined several sarees but bought only a kurta worth Rs 1,400. Later the employees came to know that 25 sarees were missing. CCTV footage revealed that the women were hiding the sarees under their clothes before leaving.Boyanika lodged a police complaint the same night and shared the CCTV footage with police officials to identify the thieves. The video soon went viral on social media, prompting a search.However, on Saturday the Boyanika staff got a surprise. A big courier packet containing 24 of the 25 stolen sarees reached his store. “We were pleasantly surprised to get the sarees back,” said store manager Rashmi Ranjita Patnaik.Adding an unusual turn of events, one of the suspects reportedly called a Boynika employee to apologize. “The caller, a woman from Telangana, obtained our staff member’s number from the kurta purchase bill. She requested to withdraw the complaint saying that the viral video has caused embarrassment in her locality,” a staff member said.“Despite compensation, the police made it clear that returning stolen goods does not end the crime. IIC, Angul police station, Prakash Chandra Majhi said, “Though they returned the sarees, legal action will be taken as per law.”