A WhatsApp display picture helped an Indian Air Force wing commander and his wife solve the mystery behind their belongings vanishing from their house in Dwarka Sector 23 for a long time.
The couple saw their help wearing the woman’s silk saree which she had lost two years ago.
A senior officer said the 35-year-old house help has been arrested.
He added that the IAF officer and his wife are from Salaria Officers Enclave lodged a complaint regarding the matter on August 15.
The complainants told the police that they had moved to Delhi three years ago.
Servants’ quarters
They hired the accused who was asked to stay in the servants’ quarters with her family.
“Every now and then, valuables like gold chain, earrings, sarees, would go missing from the house. They said they never suspected the house help as she had already gained their trust. She would also pretend to look for the missing items along with the family,” the officer said, adding that the employers never informed the police about the incidents as there was never a “big theft”.
After the wing commander was transferred to another city recently, the family started staying in Delhi on and off.
On the eve of Raksha Bandhan, the couple was about to contact the house help when they came across her WhatsApp display picture. “In the photo, she was wearing a silk saree which, the wing commander’s wife had lost two years ago. She immediately recognised it. The couple then thought that all the jewelry and other valuables which had gone missing from the house might have been stolen by the house help,” the officer said.
The complainants then got in touch with the police without confronting the accused.
Recoveries made
Based on the complaint, a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code was registered and a raid was conducted at the servants’ quarters where many of the missing valuables were found and recovered, the police said.
“Gold and diamond jewellery items which the couple had bought from Dubai were recovered. The accused could not sell those here. A few sarees were also recovered. It was found that she sold some of the stolen items,” the officer said.
The accused has been sent to judicial custody on August 16.
