Chikkamma entered Shantinagar in the guise of searching for an employer’s house where she was supposed to report for domestic work that day. No one in the area seemed to know anyone by that name. However, someone in the street was looking out for a maid and asked Chikkamma if she was willing to work for her. Chikkamma agreed instantly and thus gained easy entry into the house of an innocent employer. A fortnight after she had gained the confidence of her employers, Chikkamma absconded from the house with jewels and cash.
In another incident at Langford Road, housemaid Bhagyamma mixed sleeping tablets in the medicine fed to Sunil’s mother while he was out on work. When the house owner dozed off, she got away with Rs 25,000 cash, three gold chains, two gold pendants and a few bangles.
These incidents are not isolated ones. Such thefts committed by housemaids in the City are increasing with every passing day and many go unreported. According to police, a popular method of operation by housemaids is to work very sincerely for a week and gain the confidence of the employer. They even hand over small change found on the floor. The employer gradually starts leaving money and jewels around. One day, the maid drops jewels and other valuables inside the garbage bin and covers them with old paper and other stuff. She steps out to dispose the garbage and is never seen again.
The irony is that it is very difficult for police to trace the culprit as no one in the family has even a photo of the individual who has been coming to work daily. And not many people are aware of the professional verification they can get the police to do while hiring domestic help.
ACP (crime), Halasuru Gate sub division, B B Ashok Kumar, said it is imperative that employers insist on photos, addresses of their relatives in the area, if any, or even fingerprints before hiring help. Or they must at least insist on a photocopy of the ration card or voter ID card at the time of appointment. Many apartments are adopting these steps but individual houses simply do not bother. “In many of the cases we worked upon, we learnt that even the name the maids had given were wrong,” he said. They also usually operate with a male, who helps them in their escapades.
A serious problem is that it is very difficult to get good maids and every other house is looking out for a maid or is not satisfied with the existing one. So, the desperation to hire a person is high. Moreover, the maids planning to cheat their prospective employers are usually willing to do all household jobs for salaries less than what genuine maids ask for, the ACP added.
Another top police official strongly advocated the verification process done
 by the police before hiring housemaids. A processing fee of Rs 1,000 has to be paid by the employer to verify the criminal antecedents of the employee. For a payment of Rs 2,000, a  local address and reputation check is also done. Police will submit a report on the person seeking employment within 15 days, he added.
Incidents of theft are less harmful when compared to gruesome incidents of murder committed by servants.
However, the City Crime Records Bureau is not in possession of statistics related to it. It is imperative that employees get wise before any untoward incident happens, or the present trend of domestic theft cases going undetected will continue.