‘Clean sweep’: Maids blamed for stealing 80 tolas gold, Rs2m cash

Police launch search operation to locate the suspects; Officials hopeful of apprehending them soon

KARACHI:

A shocking case of theft has come to light in Karachi, as a homeowner accuses recently-hired maids of stealing 80 tolas of gold and Rs2 million cash.

The complainant, Shah Zaman Khan Bhutto, filed a report at the Defence police station, detailing the alleged incident. According to Bhutto, his family had employed a 30-year-old woman named Zainab to perform cleaning duties at their residence on Tariq Commercial Street No16 Phase VII DHA. Zainab would arrive at 10am and leave at 3pm as per her work schedule.

On August 1, the situation took an unexpected turn when Zainab showed up with two other women, aged between 28 and 30, claiming to be experienced maids seeking employment. The family decided to hire both women, and they began their duties that day.

While one of the hired maids worked with Zainab on the first floor, the other engaged in conversation with Bhutto's mother on the ground floor. Meanwhile, Bhutto's sister and sister-in-law were in their respective rooms.

Read more: Maid accused of stealing Rs5m cash, 15 tolas of gold from DHA house

After some time, Zainab informed Bhutto's mother that they needed to leave for a short while and would return within half an hour. During their absence, Bhutto's mother needed some money and proceeded to the first floor to open the locker. However, to her dismay, she discovered that the key to the vault was missing.

In a state of panic, she alerted everyone in the household, but despite their frantic search, the key to the locker remained elusive. Forced to take further action, the family called upon a locksmith to open the locker. The heart-wrenching truth was revealed when the locker was opened - the family's 80 tola gold and Rs2 million cash had vanished.

Immediately following the discovery, Bhutto reported the incident to the police at 3pm. The police have since launched a search operation to locate the accused maids and are hopeful of apprehending them soon.