Bengaluru housemaid sports stolen necklace in WhatsApp picture, arrested: Report

After nearly four months of investigation, Bengaluru police arrested a former housemaid who was found wearing a stolen necklace in her WhatsApp profile picture.

Updated on: Aug 11, 2024, 10:17:43 IST

By Yamini C S

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Almost four months after a family in Bengaluru reported their jewellery missing, police have apprehended a former domestic worker after discovering her wearing the stolen necklace in her WhatsApp display picture, The Indian Express reported.

The suspect, Renuka, confessed to the theft and was also linked to another burglary in the same apartment complex.

The incident occurred under the HAL police limits from the Whitefield division, who arrested Renuka, a former domestic employee at the Purva Fountain Square Apartment complex, where the family resides.

On March 30, Brijesh Dhami, 36, who lives in the southeast Bengaluru apartment complex, lodged a complaint alleging that valuable jewellery, which his wife had last worn during Diwali 2023, had vanished. Dhami reported that two rings, a pair of bangles, a pair of earrings, a necklace, a gold chain, and several smaller pieces of jewellery stored in a bag within a cupboard were missing as of March 29, 2023, the report stated. The family discovered the bag was empty when they checked for their valuables, according to the complaint.

The FIR listed four domestic workers employed by the family as suspects, including Renuka, who was among the former staff. Despite initial investigations and interrogations of all four suspects, the police had found no leads, the publication noted.

Whitefield DCP Shivakumar Gunare spoke to reporters on the matter and said, “Several months later, one of the domestic workers took a photograph of herself wearing the stolen necklace and put up the photograph as her WhatsApp display picture. The former employers of the domestic worker noticed the picture and alerted the police,” as quoted by the publication.

However, on July 30, Renuka was brought in for questioning from her home in Munnekolalu, Marathahalli. During the interrogation, she admitted to the theft at the apartment and further revealed her involvement in a separate theft at another flat within the same complex.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yamini C S
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.Read More

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