Caretaker ‘steals’ gold and cash from elderly couple’s house, held

Wamne was working as a caretaker at the residence where a 83-year-old man and his 76-year-old wife were living. The couple, who have a business related to  plastic, had hired two caretakers and three house helps.

The Mumbai police arrested the caretaker at an elderly couple’s residence in Mulund for allegedly stealing gold ornaments and cash worth Rs. 1.37 crore from the house, on Thursday — within 12 hours of filing a complaint.

The police are on the lookout for the security guard of the building who is alleged to have assisted the accused. The arrested accused was identified as Amit Wamne, 40, a resident of Chembur.

Wamne was working as a caretaker at the residence where a 83-year-old man and his 76-year-old wife were living. The couple, who have a business related to plastic, had hired two caretakers and three house helps.

The accused was arrested based on a complaint filed by the 76-year-old woman.

An officer said that they have also recovered the stolen items that had been kept by Wamne at a friend’s place.

Last month, the complainant’s husband was unwell and later admitted to the hospital on April 10. The couple had sent domestic helps and both the caretakers for ten days’ leave.

The husband was discharged from the hospital on April 18. The complainant did not find the key to locker at their house and called the key maker who opened the lockers on April 28. The couple then found that gold ornaments and valuables were missing from the lockers.

Following this, the couple approached the Mulund police and a case was registered.

During investigation police learnt that the CCTV system was switched off on April 15 at night for an hour when they suspected the crime was committed. The police, however, did find a 40 second clip of Wamne entering the building following which they found out about his involvement.

Wamne was arrested and police said that while questioning him, the role of the security guard, who had switched off the CCTV system came to light.

Police said that the security guard was paid Rs 1 lakh by Wamne.