Delhi Police have recorded 208 arrests in 173 cases linked to thefts allegedly involving domestic helps or other employees over the past 18 months, prompting renewed calls for employers to verify workers’ identities and maintain complete records.
Police recorded 139 arrests in 111 such cases in 2025. Till August this year, 69 people had been arrested in 62 cases, according to figures reported by The Times of India. Investigators said employees may have access to household keys, security arrangements, daily routines and information about where cash and jewellery are kept.
Police said the alleged motives vary, including financial distress, mounting debts, unfulfilled aspirations and the desire to maintain a high-end lifestyle. In some cases, investigators suspect that employees were allegedly recruited or used by organised gangs that exploited their access to homes and knowledge of family routines.
Earlier this month, an employee of a businessman allegedly staged a robbery involving Rs 36 lakh near Zakhira flyover. In another case, a domestic help allegedly stole valuables from a home in northwest Delhi’s Bharat Nagar while the employer was abroad, the report said.
Police also cited a June theft at a mobile phone shop in Karol Bagh, where valuables worth nearly Rs 1 crore were stolen. Four men were arrested within 24 hours, including a 24-year-old employee identified as Ravi, who police alleged had masterminded the heist. Investigators said the group used a duplicate key and that Ravi later posed as an innocent employee and witness.
According to police, some gangs allegedly use forged documents or recommendations to place a member in a household. The employee may then spend days or weeks studying the family’s routine before helping other members gain entry and leave with valuables. Police said this creates a verification challenge because submitted documents and references may not always establish a worker’s actual identity or criminal background.
A separate case in April involved a dacoity at a bungalow in Golf Links, Lutyens’ Delhi. Police said a domestic help who had been hired about a week earlier using a fake identity and without verification allegedly opened the main gate for an armed gang. The gang held the businessman, his wife, daughter-in-law and minor grandson hostage for nearly 15 minutes and allegedly escaped with cash and jewellery worth Rs 25-30 lakh.
A senior police officer said the absence of verification makes it difficult to establish employees’ backgrounds or determine whether their documents are genuine. Police have repeatedly advised employers to verify the antecedents of domestic workers before hiring them.
The officer said employers should retain details including family contacts, Aadhaar cards, home addresses and bank details. Police said maintaining these records can help investigators trace employees if a crime occurs.
