The Peelamedu police have registered a case against three persons, who dug up a body in a graveyard and stole a 3.50-sovereign gold chain.

The police said Sakthivel, Manikandan and Karthikeyan from Udayampalayam and Sowripalayam were booked based on a complaint lodged by K. Venkatesh (32) from the same locality.

According to the police, Venkatesh’s father Nagaraj died on June 6 and the body was buried in a graveyard at Sowripalayam. A 3.5-sovereign gold chain, which Nagaraj used to wear, was left with the deceased when the body was buried.

However, family members found out that the burial spot had been dug up when they visited the place for rituals on June 19. Nagaraj’s relatives questioned Karthikeyan as he used to sleep at the burial ground. When grilled, Karthikeyan told them that he, along with Sakthivel and Manikandan, dug up the burial spot on June 16 and took the gold chain. They cleaned the chain with acid and sold it at a shop at Poo Market in the city after melting it.

The police registered a separate case against three persons, namely Mani, Ranjith and Kathi, on charge of assaulting Manikandan over the incident. He is undergoing treatment in a hospital, said the police.