Maid Disappears with ₹26 Lakh Worth of Jewelry in Baner Heist

A family’s joyous wedding trip turned into a nightmare after they returned home to find their precious jewelry gone and their trusted maid missing.

In Pune’s upscale Baner area, a housemaid is at the center of a major theft case involving stolen gold and diamond-studded ornaments worth ₹25.8 lakhs. The family, away in Lucknow to attend a wedding on April 27, came back to an empty jewelry cupboard and no sign of their domestic help.

The missing items included gold bangles, diamond-studded rings, a gold chain, a nose ring, and a mangalsutra — all believed to be taken from a locked cupboard. When attempts to contact the maid failed and her phone remained switched off, the family’s suspicion quickly turned into a formal police complaint.

Authorities have launched an investigation and are searching for the accused, who had been working in the household for some time. The case highlights a growing concern in urban neighborhoods where domestic thefts are increasingly being reported.

Interestingly, this isn’t an isolated event. In a similar case recently reported in Pune’s Pashan area, another maid allegedly made off with jewelry worth ₹4 lakhs. These back-to-back thefts have prompted police to once again advise residents to carry out thorough background checks before hiring domestic workers. Verifying documents like identity and address proof can be crucial, they say, especially when such incidents make tracing suspects far more difficult.

As the investigation unfolds, the Baner family remains hopeful that justice will be served and their stolen valuables recovered. Meanwhile, the case serves as a cautionary tale for urban homeowners, reminding them that trust must be built on more than just familiarity — it needs verification too.