The Malad Police have arrested a former caretaker woman for allegedly stealing gold and silver ornaments worth around ₹8 lakh. The accused has been identified as Sunita Pawar (50), who is currently in police custody. According to the police, she entered the complainant’s home under the pretext of visiting his ailing mother and allegedly stole valuables from a cupboard.
The incident took place between 10:30 am and 11:00 am on October 3 in a housing society in Malad. The complainant, Rohit, lives there with his elderly mother and sister for the past 45 years. Rohit works as a freelance computer hardware maintenance professional and often travels between Mumbai and Goa for work. Since his sister, works in a bank, they had hired Sunita Pawar as a caretaker to look after their 80-year-old mother. Sunita would report for duty around 8 a.m. and leave by 8 p.m.
On August 7, Rohit’s mother suffered a dizzy spell at home and was admitted to Siddhivinayak Criticare Hospital in Malad. She was discharged on August 21 but had to be readmitted on September 21 due to health complications. During her second hospitalization, the family needed a full-time caretaker and informed Sunita not to report for work.
On October 3, when Rohit was at home with his mother, Sunita arrived saying she wanted to check on the elderly woman. Around the same time, a new caretaker sent by Satish Manpower Agency arrived for a 24-hour service. Rohit went downstairs to receive the new caretaker, leaving his mother and Sunita alone in the house. When he returned, Sunita had already left.
Later that evening, Rohit’s sister returned home from work and noticed that several gold and silver ornaments worth ₹8.14 lakh were missing from the cupboard. Since no one except Sunita had entered the house during that time, the family suspected her and filed a complaint with the Malad Police Station.
Following verification of the complaint, the police registered a case of theft against Sunita Pawar and arrested her on Tuesday. Police officials said she is currently being interrogated and that efforts are underway to recover the stolen jewellery soon.