09 July,2009 08:30 AM IST | | Imran Gowhar
On her second day at work, she walked away with gold jewellery worth over Rs 1 lakh
A businessman in Banaswadi is poorer by over a lakh, thanks to a thieving maid. Rajesh Thakkappan hired a maidservant, Nirmala, on his father-in-law's recommendation.
Nirmala started work on July 2 and impressed the family. Little did they know that she has surveying the house on the pretext of cleaning.
The next day, Nirmala came to work and went inside the bedroom to clean. An unsuspecting Sujatha Thakkappan's wife went into the washroom.
Thakkappan, who was in the living room with his three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, later went out for a stroll.
A few minutes later, Nirmala came out with the broom, saying she wanted to clean the compound. Thakkappan then went inside the house.
When Nirmala did not return after half-an-hour, Thakkappan went out to find her gone. Suspecting something fishy, he rushed to the bedroom and found the wardrobes ransacked and gold valuables including three necklaces, gold bangles and a diamond ring all worth Rs 1.28 lakh, missing.
Penny wise...
According to police, people still don't do a background check on domestic help despite a scheme initiated by them.
According to the scheme, people who want to hire domestic help should take their photographsu00a0and other details including fingerprints and submit it to the jurisdictional police station.
The police will then check if the person has a criminal background.
This will not only help the police detect crimes but will also deter maids from committing offences, said a police officer.
Since owners have to pay a prescribed fee of around Rs 3,000 for the scheme, many people prefer not to make use of it.
It may be recalled that a trusted domestic help of Phaneesh Murthy, CEO of iGate Global Solutions, was arrested for plotting a theft with his associates.
