The Ernakulam Rural police arrested two women for the alleged robbery of gold ornaments worth 10 sovereigns from a bed-ridden elderly woman at her house in Muvattupuzha on Sunday morning.

The arrested are Sudha Shankar, 38, and Lakshmi, 46, both hailing from Tamil Nadu. The police also recovered the stolen ornaments from the accused.

The Muvattupuzha police had earlier taken Sudha, a home nurse hired to care for the victim who lived alone, into custody and interrogated her in detail before letting her off. Though she was identified as the prime suspect, investigators initially failed to find corroborating evidence.

According to the police, Sudha planned the robbery along with her friend Lakshmi. She then allegedly attempted to mislead the investigation by claiming that she had been locked up by the accused while the robbery was carried out.