Two women were recently arrested by Mumbai police; another woman, a waitress, was held for stealing at events and shops. Cops say they were hired without proper verification

Two women have been held for conning people by working as their maids and then stealing from them.



Kamat would approach people claiming to offer them jobs, and would then use their documents to get jobs at posh houses through maid agencies. Pics/Rajesh Gupta

Powai and Mulund police recently arrested Vaijanti Moreshwar Kamat and Sujata Wadekar. While Wadekar had approached the complainant on her own, Kamat would approach agencies that offer maids for hire, and impersonate other women to get the job.

TV show lessons

The Powai police arrested Vaijanti Moreshwar Kamat (21), who was inspired by the TV serial Savdhan India, and developed her modus operandi after watching it.

According to the police, Kamat, a resident of Dharavi, would look for a job as a maid at high-profile residences through an agency. She would first approach people claiming to offer them good jobs, and would then take their documents. She would use those papers to impersonate other people and get jobs through the maid agencies, which would find her employment at posh houses. When complaints were lodged about the robberies, the cops would pick up the women whose documents were submitted to the agency.

Assistant Police Inspector Shambhaji Mohite from Powai police station said, “Kamat applied for a maid’s job in the name of one Anita Kale, whom she had met in July in Chembur. She had told Anita she would get her a good job and took her documents.”

Later, Kamat applied for a job through an Andheri-based agency in Anita’s name, and got employed as a full-time maid in a residence at Hiranandani.

He further added, “The agency didn’t verify the documents submitted, and didn’t check the picture of the accused, which was on the photocopy of the original document. She started working there on October 9 and after she gained the trust of her employer, on December 7, she fled with valuables worth Rs 3.36 lakh, and Rs 50,000.”

Later, her friend, also a resident of Dharavi, was picked up, leading to her arrest.

No verification

In the other case, Mulund Police arrested Sujata Wadekar alias Chandrabhaga Sitaram Chadiwakar (37), who had stolen valuables worth R40,000 from a resident of Cypress society.

Assistant Police Inspector Vaibhav Pansare from Mulund police station said, “The accused had directly approached the complainant, and he gave her the job without verifying her details with the police.”

On the fourth day of the job, the accused stole valuables worth Rs 40,000 from the house and fled. Wadekar also has cases registered against her with Sakinaka Police and has used the same modus operandi before.

“We had nothing besides her phone number, so with the help of her address registered with the phone service provider, we went to her Sakinaka residence and learnt that her sister was staying there and she had shifted to Thane. So we sent a constable to Thane posing as a courier boy, following which her identity was revealed and she was nabbed,” added Pansare.