Mumbai: Temporary Caretaker Held in ₹3.56-Crore Marine Drive Jewellery Heist After 8 Months

In a major breakthrough, Mumbai’s Marine Drive Police have solved one of the city’s biggest house theft cases, recovering a substantial amount of stolen gold and diamond jewellery. After an intensive eight-month investigation, the police arrested 44-year-old domestic help Archana Sunil Salvi from Kalyan. She had allegedly stolen jewellery worth approximately ₹3.56 crore from the home of a 92-year-old woman.

The complainant, who works in Dubai and visits Mumbai every two months to meet his elderly mother, discovered the theft on 27 July 2025, when his wife opened a wardrobe inside the bedroom bathroom and found that the inner locker could be accessed with the same key—a lapse that alerted them. On checking the contents, they found 1,437 grams of gold and diamond jewellery missing, including an antique pearl necklace, diamond earrings and a 30-gram gold kada.

According to police, Archana had been hired temporarily in May 2025 to care for the elderly woman. During her brief assignment, she allegedly exploited the opportunity, opened the iron safe, stole the jewellery and left quietly without raising suspicion. The complainant initially suspected four other domestic workers—Dinesh Nivate (46), Ranjit Bhuya (29), Deepak (35), and Sugandha Mandavkar (47). With no CCTV in the house and the crime occurring over a three-month period, investigators struggled to determine the exact date of the theft.

Marine Drive Police registered a case under BNS 306. Under the supervision of DCP Pravin Munde (Zone 1), Senior Police Inspector Nilesh Bagul and API Pradeep Chaudhary led the technical analysis, interrogations and evidence-tracking that eventually pointed towards Archana. She had reportedly been recommended by another domestic worker named Sugandha.

During interrogation, Archana confessed to the theft. Acting on her statements, police recovered 1,249 grams of stolen jewellery, including nearly 100 jewellery pieces, valued at ₹1.27 crore. Efforts are ongoing to recover the remaining jewellery.

Police officials said the crime was driven by greed and that Archana acted alone during the theft. However, investigators are probing whether anyone else played a role and where the remaining valuables were hidden. The investigation remains open.