Help steal Rs 54L and pet, leave woman for dead

MUMBAI: Three domestic help, who had been employed for less than a month, looted cash and valuables collectively worth Rs 54 lakh from a Malad (E) flat after assaulting a 24-year-old housewife on Sunday. The accused even made off with the family’s pet, a four-month-old dog.
The police said the family members did not cross-check the antecedents of their house help and did not maintain any records.They were not even aware of the trio’s surnames.
On Sunday, only Vandana Kapoor and her two-year-old daughter were present in the flat at Shuchi Heights, Dindoshi. The other members of the family, including Vandana’s husband Gaurav, were away. They share the house with Gaurav’s brother Vishal, his wife Radhika, their two kids, Gaurav and Vishal’s grandmother and an uncle. The Kapoors have combined two flats on the 16th floor of the building. Both Vishal and Gaurav are businessmen.
The three accused, Praveen, Santosh and Raju, are aged between 22 and 30 years. Around 3.30pm, while Vandana and her child were sleeping, they opened the grandmother’s cupboard with screwdrivers. “Vandana woke up and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. Afraid that he would get caught, Praveen walked up behind her and strangled her with his hands. Vandana fell on the floor and lost consciousness. The three men then pushed her into a storeroom, assuming that she had died. Sparing her two-year-old daughter, they went back to ransacking the house. They opened two cupboards and made off with Rs 1.5 lakh in cash, gold coins, a diamond watch besides gold and diamond jewellery,” said senior inspector Subhash Dafle. They also snatched a gold chain, bangles and earrings that Vandana was wearing.
Before leaving, the accused decided to take the pet dog, a Shih Tzu called Myra. They left the building one at a time. “The watchman said he did not see them carrying any bags, which meant they could have stuffed the valuables into their pockets. One of the accused was carrying the pet. When the watchman asked him where he was taking the dog, he said Myra needed to be taken for a walk. The other accused left on the pretext of buying provisions. We are banking on footage from the CCTV cameras,” an official said.
Around 4.15pm, when Gaurav’s uncle returned home, he found the main entrance ajar while the safety door was shut. He also found Vandana’s daughter crying. Vandana was rushed to Lifeline Hospital in Malad (E). Her condition is now stable.
“On Sunday, we went for a cousin’s exhibition and granny decided to join us at the last minute,” said Radhika. The family’s maid, Krishnaa, was also away when the incident occurred. Praveen was hired a month ago after their cook, Lallan, left for his hometown, Surat. Twenty days into the job, Praveen, introduced Santosh to the family. On Saturday, the duo brought Raju.
The Kurar police registered a case of robbery and were looking for the trio. They were also probing Lallan’s role as he could not be traced to his hometown. Lallan worked for the Kapoors for a month and recommended Praveen as his replacement.