Couple held of multiple thefts across city, valuables worth Rs 80L recovered

With the arrest of a husband-wife duo, Delhi Police have busted a network of thieves who have been involved in a spate of house thefts in posh colonies of the city.

The accused have been identified as Vijay Singh (43) and Manisha (35), both residents of Odisha. Additionally, stolen items including diamond jewellery and electronic items worth over Rs 80 lakh have been recovered from the accused.

The case came to light on March 19, when the complainant in the case Nishu Tripathi reported that she had left with her husband for some function and when she returned she found her diamond jewellery worth Rs 50 lakh had been stolen.

She told the police that her maid Manisha, who had been hired a day prior to the incident, was missing. The case was registered at Vasant Kunj (North) police station.

"We analysed the cell phone number reportedly belonging to the maid and it was found switched off. We also received inputs that the maid had come to Delhi only a couple of months ago. When the placement agencies working in the area were searched to obtain clues, it was learnt that over the past few months many such agencies had opened and later shut down in a short period of time. A search for these closed placement agencies revealed that most of them were being run by the accused," said a senior police official.

Soon, police received a new set of numbers belonging to the couple. They were traced to a location in Nizamuddin and arrested upon identification.

The interrogation of the couple revealed that since 2005, they had started and closed various placement agencies beginning with Kalka Maid Services' at Kilokari in New Delhi's Ashram area.

In each such venture, they used to send chosen members of their gang as maid servants to prospective clients.

After winning their confidence, they would find an opportune moment and steal the house owners' belongings and return to their native place in Odisha