Caretaker held for stealing gold worth ₹1.37-Cr from Mulund bizman’s house

According to the police, a 76-year-old complainant lives with her 83-year-old husband in Mulund. The couple had hired two caretakers and three domestic helpers. One caretaker was hired through an agency while Wamne was hired more than six years ago through some known persons

MUMBAI: A 40-year-old caretaker was arrested on Thursday for allegedly stealing gold ornaments and cash worth ₹1.37 crore from an elderly businessman’s residence in Mulund.

Mumbai, India - May 04, 2023: Mulund Police Station officials present an accused burglar during a press conference to the media after he was arrested and ₹1.37 crore cash and valuables was recovered from him, at Mulund, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, May 04, 2023. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

The police said they have recovered the entire stolen booty from the arrested accused, who committed the crime with the help of the watchman of the building. The watchman is still at large.

The arrested accused is Amit Wamne, 40, a resident of Chembur and worked at the victim’s residence in Mulund for more than six years.

According to the police, a 76-year-old complainant lives with her 83-year-old husband in Mulund. The couple had hired two caretakers and three domestic helpers. One caretaker was hired through an agency while Wamne was hired more than six years ago through some known persons. The complainant’s husband was unwell and admitted to the hospital on April 10, when the couple sent all the servants and caretakers on leave for ten days.

The complainant’s husband was discharged from the hospital on April 18. When they reached home, the complainant did not find the locker’s keys and called the key maker who opened the lockers on April 28. To their shock, the couple found that the gold ornaments were missing from the lockers, said deputy commissioner of police Purushottam Karad of zone 7.

The couple then approached the Mulund police and a case was registered. During the investigation, police found that the CCTV installed inside the building compound was switched off for around an hour at 11pm on April 15. The watchman of the building, who was on duty on the day, had gone to his native place since April 28 and therefore the police suspected the involvement of the watchman in the heist. Minute scanning of the CCTV footage showed that in a clip of 30 seconds a person was captured by one of the cameras while entering the building and after that the CCTV cameras were switched off, added the official.

Thereafter the police called both the caretakers for questioning and during interrogation found that Wamne’s walking style was like the person captured by the CCTV camera. During interrogation, Wamne confessed to having committed the crime and revealed that he had kept the valuables at his friend’s place in Kalachowki, said a police officer. He added that the entire stolen booty is recovered.

Wamne had paid ₹1 lakh to the watchman for helping him in committing the theft, said a police officer. Police are still searching for the watchman.