The accused have been identified as Kashif Sharief (23) and Jabeena (19), both residents of Ramakrishna Hegde Nagar. The police said that the couple had stashed away the booty as they were planning to get married at the end of Ramadan.

The love-struck pair broke into the home of Akhthar Citizens Lodge’s owners in Shivajinagar on September 6 and made away with jewellery  worth Rs 65.5 lakh and cash of over Rs 3 lakh.  Jabeena was working as a maid in the same household for over a year and had full knowledge of where the wealth was stored. She had stopped working for them and was said to be living with Sharief for the past six months.

Sharief had been unemployed for the past few months and the couple were struggling to make ends meet. Jabeena visited her former employers on the pretext of seeking employment a day before the break-in. She took advantage of her familiarity with the household and discreetly took away the keys. Sharief then made copies of the keys before the originals were placed back.

Police said that Jabeena had taken the family members into such confidence that they had even informed her about an Iftaar they had to attend on the evening of September 6. The couple took advantage of the absence of the family members broke open two wooden cupboards and walked away with the valuables. The case was solved on September 10 and the police zeroed in on the floundering couple after quizzing other workers at the house.
Police commissioner Shankar Bidari handed the recovered money and jewellery back to the owners on Sunday.

DH News Service