Hire at your risk: The dark truth about domestic workers

New Delhi: Coming close on the heels of the Golf Links heist, the Kailash Hills shocker has yet again turned the spotlight on dangers posed by unverified domestic workers in the city.

Between 2020 and 2025, around 650 arrests were made in over 750 reported cases of theft and robbery involving serving or former domestic workers. The modus operandi was nearly similar — workers hired without proper background checks gaining the trust of their employers and striking when least expected.

On April 16 this year, a prominent liquor businessman and his family were allegedly held hostage and robbed at their residence in Golf Links by a domestic worker and his associates. On April 20, a domestic worker, 40, was arrested for allegedly stealing around 250 grammes of gold jewellery from the house of an 82-year-old woman in Keshav Puram.

According to Delhi Police, from the beginning of 2020 till Nov 2024, 649 incidents of theft and robbery by domestic workers were reported in Delhi, leading to 564 arrests. Last year, there were over 100 such cases and more than 80 people were arrested.

Year-wise data shows 106 such cases in 2020, rising to 154 next year and further to 164 in 2022, before declining to 119 in 2023 and 106 in 2024. Seventy-four domestic workers were apprehended in 2020, followed by 157 in 2021 and 151 the next year. The number declined to 88 in 2023 before increasing to 94 in 2024.

A senior police officer said on Wednesday that employers do not carry out proper verification of their domestic workers, leaving police unaware of their identities and making it difficult for them to trace the suspects when crimes are reported. In several instances, domestic workers meticulously build up trust with their employers — sometimes over years — before targeting them.

“We have come across cases where they stayed with families for two to three years before committing crimes. However, many carried out thefts within a few days of joining,” the officer said, adding that many employers hire domestic workers through informal references or contacts without checking their backgrounds.

In July last year, a 42-year-old woman and her 14-year-old son were found murdered in their house in southeast Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar. Their domestic worker was arrested for the crime.

In many cases, such workers specifically target affluent households in upscale colonies of Delhi, gaining access and trust by seamlessly blending into daily household routines, before striking when chances arise.

Cops have been regularly sensitising Delhiites, stressing the importance of verifying the antecedents of their employees. This can be done online through Delhi Police’s website. Prospective employers can also visit their nearest police stations after downloading registration forms for such workers. Police also conduct regular awareness drives to promote and facilitate such registrations.

“Proper documentation and verification of domestic workers could significantly reduce such crimes, as these create a deterrence,” said the officer.
Get real-time updates and result insights on the UP Board Result 2026, UP Board 10th Result 2026 and UP Board 12th Result 2026