Caught loitering: How a Bengaluru domestic worker failed to escape with stolen jewellery worth Rs 1 crore from American woman’s house

The Bengaluru police arrested a domestic worker from West Bengal after a professional hailing from Texas in the US reported the theft at her house.

2 min readBengaluruUpdated: Jan 29, 2026 03:35 PM IST

The police said the accused, Chandan Roul, had been working at the complainant’s residence for the past six months (Express Photo).

The Jeevan Bheemanagar police in Bengaluru Wednesday said they have arrested a 29-year-old man for allegedly stealing gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 1 crore from the villa of an American couple where he was employed as a domestic worker. The entire stolen property was recovered intact, the police said.

The accused has been identified as Chandan Roul, 29, a native of West Bengal. The police said he was hired through a domestic help agency, with payments made directly to the agency. He had been working at the complainant’s residence for the past six months.

The theft took place on January 19 and came to light on January 21, when the complainant, an American citizen from Texas, currently working in Bengaluru with her husband, returned home in the evening and found that gold and diamond jewellery kept in the bedroom cupboard locker was missing. She then complained to the J B Nagar police station, suspecting the domestic help.

During the investigation, the police noticed the accused loitering near the villa’s security post a few hours after the complaint was filed. He was apprehended the same day and, during interrogation, he confessed to the theft. Based on his disclosure, the police recovered 176 grams of gold and diamond jewellery and Rs 39,000 in cash from his house in Sudhamanagar.

The police said the accused was planning to return to his native place within a week and intended to sell the stolen jewellery outside Karnataka. To avoid suspicion, he continued reporting to work even after committing the theft.

The police said the case involved coordination with the United States Embassy, which had formally communicated the complaint to M A Saleem, Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG-IGP), seeking immediate action as the complainant’s husband was in the US when the theft occurred.

The accused was produced before a court on January 22 and remanded in judicial custody. The police said he has no previous criminal record.

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