Ludhiana, Aug. 28 -- A hug was all it took for a woman to pull off a 63-year-old's gold earrings and flee in a car with her accomplices in Hambran. Police have registered a case against two unidentified women and their accomplices and suspect the involvement of a gang that had targeted elderly women in Ludhiana using a similar modus operandi.

The victim, Maya, a resident of Hambran village, told police that she was on her way with her daughter-in-law to deliver food to her son when a Maruti Suzuki Swift approached them from behind near Punjab National Bank. Two women got out of the car and approached her. One of them greeted Maya as if she were a relative before suddenly hugging her. While embracing her, the woman pulled off her gold ear...