Maid, who built house with stolen money, arrested in Ghaziabad

Ghaziabad: The police here said Wednesday they have arrested a suspected serial woman burglar who used to target her employer, and who built a house for herself in Delhi allegedly using the proceeds of crime.

The house help used to steal gold ornaments from her employers, with the police saying she struck at around 100 houses,and faces 26 cases in National Capital Region districts alone.

Poonam Shah alias Kajal, who hails from Bhagalpur district of Bihar, targeted people in various cities including Delhi, Jodhpur, Kolkata and Ghaziabad, police said. She travelled by air whenever she needed to target somebody in a different city, they said.

The instant case is related to the alleged theft of gold ornaments worth Rs 10 lakh from Kajal's employer Vipul Goel's house in Ghaziabad.

Indirapuram Circle Officer Abhay Mishra said Kajal, who is in her late thirties, was arrested from Amrapali village society on the basis of CCTV footage, and stolen gold ornaments worth Rs 3 lakh were recovered from her.

Mishra said that during interrogation Kajal said she had planned this theft with the help of her accomplice Bunty.

According to their plan, Kajal engaged Vipul Goel's wife in a conversation, and Bunty stole the ornaments from the almirah.

After they both decamped from the society in an auto-rickshaw and divided the stolen gold ornaments among themselves, Mishra said.

He said that before she got the job as a house help here, she was living in Delhi's Uttam Nagar.

According to police, Kajal confessed she purchased a land plot in Uttam Nagar in Delhi and constructed a house on that using the stolen gold ornaments.

She also said she had committed burglary at least in 100 houses and was booked in 26 cases of NCR districts, they said, adding she used to travel by air for targeting people in other cities.

Police said they will seize her ill-gotten property and book her under the stringent gangsters act.  Mishra said Bunty and the jeweller who purchased the stolen ornaments are at large and will be nabbed soon.