Nearly four months after a family in Bengaluru reported the theft of jewelry from their apartment, the police made a breakthrough by arresting a former domestic worker. The arrest came after she was found wearing one of the stolen necklaces in her WhatsApp display picture.
The incident occurred in the Purva Fountain Square Apartment in the Whitefield division of Bengaluru. On March 30, Brijesh Dhami, 36, a resident of the complex, lodged a police complaint reporting that several pieces of jewelry had gone missing from his apartment. The items, last worn by his wife on Diwali 2023, included two rings, a pair of bangles, a pair of earrings, a necklace, a gold chain, and some smaller jewelry pieces. These were kept in a bag inside a cupboard, and when the family went to retrieve the valuables on March 29, 2023, they found the bag empty.
The FIR named four domestic workers employed by the family as suspects, including Renuka, one of the two former employees. Despite initial investigations, which involved interrogating all four domestic workers, the police were unable to find any leads.
However, the case took a turn when, several months later, Renuka posted a photograph of herself wearing the stolen necklace as her WhatsApp display picture. The family noticed the picture and immediately alerted the police.
On July 30, Renuka was taken into custody from her residence in Munnekolalu, Marathahalli. During interrogation, she reportedly confessed to committing the theft. Further investigation revealed that she had also been involved in a second theft at another flat in the same apartment complex.
In an official statement, Whitefield DCP Shivakumar Gunare said, “Several months later, one of the domestic workers took a photograph of herself wearing the stolen necklace and put up the photograph as her WhatsApp display picture. The former employers of the domestic worker noticed the picture and alerted the police.”
