Bengaluru Man Discovers ₹60 Lakh In Cash & Jewelry Stolen After Vacation; Househelp Arrested

A househelp at a Bengaluru family’s residence has been arrested for stealing jewelry and cash valued at ₹60 lakh over six months. The theft was discovered when Vikram Vaidyanathan, managing director of Matrix Partners India, returned from a vacation in France to find nearly all of their expensive jewelry missing, except for a mangalsutra. The family subsequently filed an FIR, as reported by The Times of India.

Initially, all seven employees who had been at the house during the family’s absence were under suspicion. However, after a thorough investigation, authorities arrested househelp Divya, her aunt Manju, and an individual named Johan.

The police deduced that a woman was behind the theft because the mangalsutra was left untouched. Upon returning from their trip on July 13, Vikram’s wife Priya discovered the theft when she found all her gold, diamond jewelry, and cash missing from the wardrobe the next day. She informed Vikram, who then reported the crime to the police. During the investigation, Divya’s unusual behavior caught the attention of a senior officer. Though all employees were questioned, Divya eventually confessed to the theft, revealing that she had sole access to the room where the valuables were kept.

Divya initially denied stealing all the jewelry at once but later admitted to doing so over six months, taking a piece and some cash each time. She confessed to handing the stolen items to Manju, who sold them and shared the proceeds with Divya. When Manju was detained, it was found that she had been transferring the jewelry to her friend Johan, who was arrested a week later. Johan admitted to selling the items to gold finance companies and pawnbrokers. Following his confession, the police recovered most of the stolen items from various shops, though one piece remains missing, having been sold to a gold finance firm.

According to the police, Johan received a 10 percent commission from the stolen items, while the rest was divided between Divya and Manju. In addition to the jewelry, Divya had also stolen a branded wristwatch worth ₹6 lakh from Priya, which she kept for herself and wore on special occasions. The police later recovered the watch and a gold chain from Divya’s home. Since the cash was stolen over several months, Divya could not provide an exact amount.