Domestic helps tie up 76-year-old woman, held 10 hours after robbery

At the time of the incident, which took place at 7am, the woman was alone at home, and her 77-year-old husband had gone out for a walk

Delhi Police on Saturday arrested two domestic helps nearly 10 hours after they allegedly tied the limbs of their 76-year-old employer, gagged her by stuffing a cloth in her mouth and ransacking her house in Green Park Extension, south Delhi, robbing her of cash and jewellery worth lakhs of rupees.

Around ₹75,000, gold and other jewellery, and an iPhone were recovered from the suspects. (Representative photo)

At the time of the incident, which took place at 7am, the woman was alone at home, and her 77-year-old husband had gone out for a walk.

“Through technical and manual investigation, one suspect, identified as 32-year-old Ajeet Kamat, a resident of Madhubani district in Bihar, was arrested from near the Anand Vihar bus terminal. His partner in crime, Dharam Kumar, a 21-year-old resident of Muzaffarpur in Bihar, was caught from near Tilak Bridge bus stand. Kamat was previously involved in a burglary case that was registered at Ashok Vihar police station. All stolen articles were recovered,” deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Surendra Choudhary said.

The two suspects started work at the couple’s residence a fortnight ago, but neither was verified by the police, a senior officer said. Around ₹75,000, gold and other jewellery, and an iPhone were recovered from the suspects.

DCP Choudhary said that on Saturday morning, Surendra Kumar Jain went out for a morning walk, leaving his wife and domestic help behind in the house. When he returned, he saw that the hands of his wife were tied, and she was gagged. Jain filed a complaint, and a case of robbery was registered at the Safdarjung Enclave police station.

According to Choudhary, Kumar initially worked at the elderly couple’s house for seven days last month. He was removed from the job following a quarrel with the cook at the house. The couple also dismissed the cook from service, but re-employed Kumar on October 6. Neither Kumar nor Kamat was hired through a placement agency, the DCP said.

The man owns a jewellery shop in Chandni Chowk. The couple has a daughter, who is married and lives with her in-laws in Ashok Vihar, police said.