Rs 1.75-cr Malabar Hill burglary solved

Recently Hired Domestic Helps Held Within 24 Hrs Of Committing The Crime

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: It took the Mumbai police less than 24 hours to nab two domestic helps who had robbed their employer’s Malabar Hill residence of diamond jewellery, mobile and cash adding up to Rs 1.75 crore.

According to the police, the domestic helps—Maharaj and Raju—cleaned out diamond trader Aatish Nahar’s flat in Tania Heights on Nepean Sea Road on Friday between 1 pm and 4.30 pm. “Maharaj started working at the complainant’s house on June 21 while Raju was employed by the family on June 27,” sub-inspector Balasaheb Shinde of the Malabar Hill police station said. “The two were close to each other. Perhaps, they hailed from the same town in Uttar Pradesh,” Shinde said.

The Nahars were sleeping when the two burgled the house. The family woke up to find their cupboards open and diamond jewellery, cash and mobile missing. “As the complainant is a diamond trader, he would keep some of the precious stones at home as well,” said Shinde. The police made some inquiries and managed to get information on Maharaj’s whereabouts. Maharaj was detained on Saturday. During interrogation, he gave out Raju’s location, following which he was apprehended. The police are believed to have recovered the entire booty. “We are questioning the two to find out if they had committed similar offences in the past,” Shinde added.

According to sources, the family had not listed either of the domestic helps with the local police. Following a spate of robberies and crimes involving domestic helps, the police had launched a campaign urging citizens to register their helps at the local police station to avoid any untoward incident. However, most avoid doing so.

The Times of India, July 4, 2010