A househelp working at a Bengaluru family’s residence was recently arrested for stealing jewellery and cash worth Rs 60 lakh over six months. The theft came to light only when Vikram Vaidyanathan, the managing director of Matrix Partners India, returned from a vacation in France and found that almost all their expensive jewellery, except a mangalya chain, was missing. Following the shocking discovery, the family filed an FIR, revealed in a report by The Times of India. Initially, all seven employees who were working at the house during the family’s absence were under suspicion. However, after a detailed investigation, authorities arrested househelp Divya, along with her aunt Manju and an individual named Johan.
The police concluded that a woman was responsible for the theft after noticing that the mangalsutra was left untouched. After returning from their vacation on July 13, Vikram’s wife Priya saw all her gold, diamond jewellery and cash were gone when she opened the wardrobe at around 3 PM the next day. She quickly informed her husband, who reported the crime to the police. During the investigation, a senior officer noticed that Divya was acting unusually. Although all employees were questioned, Divya herself confessed to the theft. She revealed that she was the only one who had access to the room where the valuables were kept in the locker.
The maid initially denied stealing the jewellery all at once, but later admitted that it went on for six months, as she stole a piece and some cash each time. She then confessed passing the stolen items to Manju, who sold them and gave Divya her share of the money. When Manju was detained, it was discovered that she was transferring the jewellery to her friend Johan, who was arrested a week later from his home. He took the responsibility for selling the items to gold finance companies and pawnbrokers. Following his confession, the police managed to recover most of the stolen items from various shops. However, one piece of ornament, which was sold to a gold finance firm, is yet to be found.
According to police, Johan took 10 per cent commission from the stolen items, while the remaining amount was divided among Divya and Manju. Other than jewellery, Divya had also stolen a branded wristwatch worth Rs 6 lakh from Priya. Instead of selling it, she kept the timepiece for herself and wore it on special occasions. The police later recovered the watch and a gold chain from the maid’s home. As the cash was taken over several months, the househelp was unable to provide the exact amount stolen.
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