Ramanattukara: A 24-year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh, who allegedly stole 36 sovereigns of gold from her classmate’s house in Beypore after visiting as a guest, has been arrested by Feroke police in Mumbai.

The accused, Thottabanu Sowjanya, a native of Vijayawada, was apprehended in a coordinated operation.

According to police, Sowjanya and the complainant, Gayathri from Beypore, were classmates pursuing a postgraduate course at Surana College in Bengaluru. Sowjanya visited Gayathri’s home during the holidays on 17 July and stayed for three days. On 19 July, she allegedly fled with 36 sovereigns of gold kept in the house.

After the theft, Sowjanya told her college authorities that she had secured a job with the Army in Gujarat and would not be returning. She then reportedly pawned and sold the stolen gold and used the money to travel abroad, staying for a time with relatives in Tanzania.

After an extensive investigation, police traced her to Gujarat, where she had returned and was staying with her younger sister. On learning that the police were closing in, she flew to Mumbai.

Police teams from Feroke and Beypore, deployed across Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai, eventually located and arrested Sowjanya as she was preparing to board a flight to Hyderabad.

She will be brought back to Kerala on Friday, officials said.