Burglars who posed as helps to strike

NEW DELHI: They watched the film Bawarchi in which the servant drugged the entire family before stealing and then returned the valuables to help the film’s heroine marry her sweetheart. In real life, though, this gang — inspired by the film — almost repeated the script. However, instead of returning the booty, it ensured everything reached safely across the border to Nepal.
West district police have busted a gang of notorious criminals from Nepal headed by one Buddhi Ram, who ran a mobile placement agency with the motive of robbing their employers within two days of being on job.All four gang members — Buddhi, Bikram, Bikas and Jeevan — residents of Narayani and Lumbini in Nepal — have been arrested.
“All of them have worked as domestic servants. Earlier, Buddhi had served a seven-year term in a similar case. The gang leader cultivated his close relatives and then planted them as domestic servants in houses they intended to burgle. At an opportune moment, they drugged the inmates of the house, escaping with cash and jewellery. The accused have been found involved in several such cases at Patel Nagar, Vikaspuri and Miawali Nagar. Buddhi supplied sedation pills to the servant, who would, in turn, serve food laced with it to the inmates of the house. We have recovered gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh, cash worth Rs 2 lakh, sleeping pills, stolen mobile phones, one Rolex watch among other things,’’ said DCP (west) V Renganathan.
In the backdrop of several burglaries being committed by Nepalese servants in similar fashion in the recent past in West district, a team of special staff was asked to collect information about the gang.
“In January 2011, an incident occurred in Vikaspuri where a Nepalese man posing as a guard offered to arrange for a domestic servant from Nepal, an expert cook. The guard introduced himself as Hari and after some time brought one Bikram as a domestic help. On January 27, Bikram served food mixed with sedatives to the inmates, who became unconscious. Bikram called Hari and Deepak inside the house, burgled it and fled. Deepak was held in February and made startling disclosures about the gang and its modus operandi,’’ said Renganathan.
On April 6, another incident occurred in Miyanwali Nagar. A businessman, Rajiv Kochar of Paschim Vihar, said his family had employed a servant, Karan, through one Bhim 4-5 days ago. That very day, the whole family became unconscious after dinner.
He regained his senses 48 hours later and found himself and his parents in hospital. Upon returning home, he found his residence burgled and the servant missing.
“During interrogation, Buddhi disclosed that he came to India about 12 years ago and started working as a domestic servant. Seeking to earn fast money, in 2003, he met Gopal, a native of his village who was inspired by the film Bawarchi,” said the DCP.