2 house help, who stole jewellery worth ₹2.86 crore, arrested

The two men were arrested from Bhatodi village in Bihar, where they were hiding with the stolen booty. They have been identified as Raja Yadav alias Niraj, 19, and Shatrughan Kumar alias Raju,19

Mumbai: The police arrested two domestic helpers of a Khar businessman on Sunday who had allegedly fled with diamonds and gold worth ₹2.86 crore from the latter’s residence after spiking their dinner with sleeping pills a week ago.

The accused spiked the Idli Sambhar of the family that they had for dinner at 8pm on Saturday and fled with the gold and diamonds, which they knew that Jhaveri had kept in her locker after her husband, a jeweller, died in November 2023.

The two men were arrested from Bhatodi village in Bihar, where they were hiding with the stolen booty. They have been identified as Raja Yadav alias Niraj, 19, and Shatrughan Kumar alias Raju,19. According to the police, Niraj was arrested in a robbery case at Kalachowky police station a few years ago. The officers said that they traced the men through their mobile phone locations and with the help of the Bihar police.

Two members of the businessman’s family, including Sunita Vijay Jhaveri, 53, and her daughter,14, along with their female domestic help, were found unconscious at their 14th Road apartment in Khar last Sunday.

The accused spiked the Idli Sambhar of the family that they had for dinner at 8pm on Saturday and fled with the gold and diamonds, which they knew that Jhaveri had kept in her locker after her husband, a jeweller, died in November 2023.

The incident came to light when another domestic helper knocked on the door of the house on Sunday and got no response. She opened the door with a spare set of keys and found the three women lying. They were then rushed to the hospital.

The two men had been working for the Jhaveri for a month and 10 days and had planned the robbery. “The two were recommended by Jhaveri’s previous driver,” said a police officer from Khar police station.

The accused are booked under sections 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with the intent to commit an offence), 381 (theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of the master) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention-when a criminal act is done) of the IPC.

“We will produce the two men in court on Monday. Niraj convinced Raju to rob the family and flee with him to Bihar. The entire stolen booty has been recovered,” said the officer.