BENGALURU: A working couple decided to hire a live-in domestic help and posted their requirement on Facebook. A woman responded and joined work only to flee with gold ornaments worth Rs 2.3 lakh five days later.
According to a complaint filed with Hebbal police by Abhijit Deb, a resident of an apartment in Guddadahalli, north Bengaluru, and from Tripura, he was living in the house along with his wife, child, and father. His wife was working as a senior process executive and had the option to work from home. He worked for a Basavanagudi-based private firm as an area business manager.
Since both of them were working, the couple decided to hire a live-in domestic help. "It is the first time we felt the need for live-in help. My wife posted the requirement on a Facebook page named ‘Cook and Maid' in the first week of Dec. She gave her mobile number for those interested to contact. Many people called my wife and enquired about the work they needed to do," Abhijit told TOI.
"A woman introducing herself as Devonita Karmakaru, alias Reshma, contacted my wife over the phone. She initially said she could work as a part-time maid, but when my wife told her she was looking for a live-in maid, she refused to work. However, after a couple of days, she called my wife again and said she wanted to work as a live-in maid. Accordingly, she joined work on Dec 11," he said.
Devonita was given a room to stay. "We collected her Aadhaar as proof of her identity. But she gave a fake Aadhaar card, which we realised only after she stole the ornaments and went missing," he added.
On Dec 16, Abhijit left for work around 9:30am. "My wife and father were at home. My wife went to sleep in the afternoon. When she woke up around 4:30pm, she found the help missing. When my wife tried to reach her on her mobile phone, it was switched off. Later, my wife checked the cupboard in the bedroom and found that Devonita had fled with our gold ornaments worth Rs 2.3 lakh, including bangles, earrings, a chain, a mangalya chain, and a finger ring," Abhijit narrated.
Abhijit said he was not aware of the employee verification until they approached police to file a complaint about the theft. "Devonita rarely obliged to our needs at work. For example, if we asked her to wait till we got up in the morning and cook food according to our menu, she would start cooking on her own by 6:30am. She claimed she was from West Bengal, but her accent indicated she was from Odisha," he said.
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