Three who robbed homes in guise of maids arrested

BENGALURU: Three women who committed thefts in upscale residential complexes in Mumbai in the guise of house maids have been arrested in the Maharashtra capital. The arrested are Priyanka (29), Mahadevi (26 ), and Vanitha (37), all from Mumbai. According to the police, they also committed a theft using the same modus-operandi in Bengaluru.

According to police, they approach their victims by uploading their resumes with false information on social media groups such as ‘Refer House Maids.’ After joining work, they would flee with valuables. They also used SIM cards of mobile phones stolen from crowded trains in Mumbai.  

Of the three, Mahadevi had managed to get a job at a house in Hennur. She had given a fake Aadhaar card identifying herself as Subbalakshmi of Dakshina Kannada. The accused started working on May 3 and on May 6 with the help of the two others, she committed the theft when the house owner Aravind had gone out. The trio escaped with 250 gm of gold ornaments and 100 gm of silver coins.

“Mahadevi had given her mobile phone number to the complainant. After her escape, the police, when called, realised that the phone had been stolen in Mumbai. The women were arrested from Mumbai. The police managed to get clues of the accused based on their resumes which they had uploaded on social media,” said the police. 

The accused use different identities. The kingpin is Vanitha. The other two act on Vanitha’s instructions. They also approach watchmen of apartments to check if there is any need for maids.