3-year-old bank deposit spills beans on burglar

MUMBAI: A 3-year-old bank transaction helped the Malabar Hill police track down a domestic help who had fled with jewellery worth Rs 34 lakh from a former employer's flat.
The police traced the suspect, John Joseph Albert, to Bangalore and recovered diamond and gold jewellery worth Rs 17 lakh. They hope to recover more of the jewellery soon. Albert, 32, had quit working for Kamlesh Bhimani, a resident of Puram Apartments in Malabar Hill, before he decamped with the booty on July 4.
In his complaint, Bhimani stated that Albert was one of his most trusted servants."He quit the job in May and started working at a Nepean Sea Road flat, where he was a domestic help till the time of his arrest," said a police officer. Albert has been remanded in police custody till August 5.
"The policemen who visited the flat found that the door locks were not broken, but duplicate keys had been used to open the main and the bedroom doors. The thief also knew where the cupboard keys were," the officer said.
On the day of the theft, Bhimani and his family had gone out and the new domestic help was also away. Albert allegedly opened the door using the duplicate keys.
During investigation, the police traced all those who had earlier worked for Bhimani and the previous occupants of the flat. "Bhimani had in fact vouched for Albert and said he could never commit such a crime," said the official.
The cops smelled a rat when they could not trace Albert's residential proof or even his photograph. "We found out that Albert had an account in a nationalised bank. The photo and the name provided to the bank were genuine, but the address was fake," said DCP Anil Kumbhare.
The police began scanning financial transactions made through the account and found an entry in 2007. "The man who had deposited the money into Albert's account was traced and he spilled the beans on Albert's address in Bangalore," Kumbhare added. The police arrested Albert in Bangalore. "He said that he wanted money for his mother's medical expenses," said an officer. Albert had also tried to steal money from his current workplace.