Domestic help booked for stealing valuable worth ₹35 lakh

A domestic help employed by a retired airlines employee allegedly made off with cash and jewellery worth ₹35 lakh from his place of work, a residence in South City-1, on Sunday, the police said.

A domestic help employed by a retired airlines employee allegedly made off with cash and jewellery worth ₹35 lakh from his place of work, a residence in South City-1, on Sunday, the police said.

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The employer, a senior citizen, hired the help in March. On Sunday, he went to visit a relative in Delhi and left the house under his care. However, he found the house ransacked upon his return, with cash, jewellery and other valuables missing. The domestic help was also missing and his phone was switched off.

The complainant, 64-year-old Ravi Handa, lives with his family. The domestic help, identified as Vinod Saud, stayed with the family in the house, the police said. The family came in touch with Saud through an acquaintance and hired him as a full-time help.

On Sunday, Handa and his family left their house around 5.30pm and asked Saud to lock the house. They returned at midnight and found that the main gate of the house was open. Upon entering, they found that cash, jewellery and other valuables worth ₹35 lakh were missing, including ₹20 lakh cash, jewellery worth ₹10 lakh and imported watches worth ₹5 lakh, among other items. Saud was missing from the house and his mobile phone was switched off.

A case under Section 381 (theft by servant or employee) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Sector 40 police station against the domestic help on Monday. “We are scanning the CCTV footage of the area to find out if he was alone or someone else was also involved in the crime. Along with this, the police is trying to track him through technical surveillance and other means,” said KK Rao, the commissioner of police.

Officials urged people to ensure that police verification of domestic helps is done by local police stations before they are hired.