House help part of gang behind spate of thefts in Gurugram held, 3 on the run

Police said they have recovered jewellery worth ₹50 lakh and added that three more members of the gang, including the husband of the arrested woman, are on the run. According to police, the gang is behind at least three thefts in Gurugram in the last three months

Gurugram: The city police on Friday arrested one member of a gang allegedly behind a spate of robberies in different areas of Delhi-NCR, with investigators saying that they gained entry into the target houses by posing as house helps and carried out the thefts when the families were away.

House help part of gang behind spate of thefts in Gurugram held, 3 on the run

Police said they have recovered jewellery worth ₹50 lakh and added that three more members of the gang, including the husband of the arrested woman, are on the run. According to police, the gang is behind at least three thefts in Gurugram in the last three months.

Police said the theft were allegedly carried out in pairs -- a woman would start working as a house help to gain access to the house and scan for valuables, and the second person, who would pose as her cousin, would take away the loot when the family is away from the house. Police said the house help too would later make some excuse and flee the house the same day.

Police said that there are over 10 such gangs, mostly from West Bengal, operating across the city.Police said agencies providing domestic helps are also under scanner after their role was highlighted by suspects in the past.

The arrest in the present case is related to a complaint filed by a resident of Silver Oak Apartments in DLF Phase 1 who alleged that their domestic help fled with cash and jewellery worth lakhs. A case was registered and the investigation was handed over to the crime team.

The complainant told the police that the domestic help, who was hired last month, had avoided sharing her personal details for police verification. However, since he needed a domestic help urgently, his mother employed her without completing the verification, he said.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that the initial probe led us to the suspect’s cousin, who was asked to join the probe. He gave us her hometown address and contact numbers of his family members. “The teams traced the suspect’s location and arrested her from Sonpur village in West Bengal. The suspect had boarded train and had fled along with her husband and two others after committing the theft,” he said.

The suspect, identified as Luxmi, a resident of Behrampur in Murshidabad of West Bengal, was taken on three-day police remand and, after recovery, was sent to judicial remand on Saturday, said police.

Police said the team recovered eight gold bangles, four gold chains, eight pairs of gold earrings, eight gold rings, two small gold chains, four gold pendants, 11 silver coins, and three locker keys from her possession.

Sangwan said in all such cases, the households had hired a woman who, after working for a few days or a month, would decamp with cash and jewellery with the help of an associate.

“The gang members would conduct recce in different parts of the city and spoke to security guards and other staff members of maintenance agency to find out the requirement for a house help,” he said.

Similar cases were reported from Nirvana Country, Sector 56, 57, Sohna Road, Palam Vihar and Sector 47 this year.

Sangwan said last year 11 women and six men were arrested for stealing cash and jewellery from residential areas after taking up jobs as domestic help. “The gang operates in pairs and enters the society after narrating stories of poverty and hunger to security guards and gaining their trust. They then take up jobs and later flee after stealing valuables,” he said.

Police said the victims are families which do not conduct verification of house helps. “The residents should get the verification done before hiring them,” he said.