More of trouble, less of help

The next time you think of recruiting the services of a placement agency to hire domestic helps, just be a little careful.

The next time you think of recruiting the services of a placement agency to hire domestic helps, just be a little careful.

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Domestic helps provided by placement agencies have committed around 37 different crimes — from thefts, robberies to murders — this year alone.

Last year, a whopping 417 such families were duped by domestic help agencies. Most of these agencies function from the serpentine lanes in Zamrudpur, Malviya Nagar, Adchini and other such areas.

From nannies for infants to nurses and cooks, they promise to cater to all sorts of need.

"These domestic help agencies give out advertisements in newspapers promising to providing skilled or semi-skilled maids. It is a very organised racket. They take mobile phone connections on fake addresses. They distribute advertisements leaflets in residential areas and give out fake addresses," said Ashok Chand, deputy commissioner of police (crime).

According to police, these maids and the domestic agents not only dupe people of their money, but also commit other crimes. “These maids sometimes provide information about the house they are working to thieves and robbers,” said a senior police officer.

“After they take the money from their victims, the agents vanish and change their cellphone numbers as well. In other cases, domestic helps work as information gatherers for these agents who in turn sell the information to thieves and robbers who later commit crimes,” added the officer.

According to police, one should be extremely careful while employing a domestic help from agencies. “It is very important to do background checks of both the domestic helps and the agencies. Before going to any such agency, one should ask people who have recruited their services and talk to them about their reliability,” added Chand.