(Representative image)

BENGALURU: Two weeks after the theft complaint was lodged, a domestic help employed with the CEO of e-commerce firm Myntra has been arrested for stealing gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs one crore from the latter's house.

Bhavani Muppudatti, 25, has confessed to stealing the ornaments from her employer Ananth Narayanan 's residence and handing them over to her fiance Suresh Kumar and his associate Pushpa. Police have launched a manhunt for the duo. Stopping short of giving details, police sources said though they have managed to find the location of the stolen jewellery, they may have to go through court to recover it.

On September 6, Narayanan filed a complaint, saying that jewellery worth Rs one crore was missing from his house on Lavelle Road. He suspected domestic helps , including Bhavani.

“During investigation, we discovered it was an insider job. On closely questioning the maids and others, we found that Suresh, who was employed as a driver with Narayanan, had left the job in March and shifted to Chennai.Even after relocating, he was in constant touch with Bhavani, which made us suspect her,“ an officer said.

Police also learnt that Bhavani had also quit but continued to work on her employer's request. “The couple asked Bhavani to work with them at least till October, until they find a replacement,“ police said. “We questioned Bhavani on September 7, a day after the complaint was filed. That day, Bhavani had made more than 25 calls to Suresh, and spoke to him at length every time,“ police said, adding, “This made us suspect her even more.“

According to police, Bhavani was detained in Chennai last Saturday. She visited the city to finalize her plans of shifting. “Bhavani and Suresh were to marry in November. They had plans to settle abroad, which required a lot of money. Suresh hatched the plan to steal valuables from Narayanan's house and Bhavani agreed to execute it for her lover's sake. When the CEO's family was out on a tour, she stole the ornaments using a duplicate key,“ cops said.

Narayanan had said seven diamond necklaces, 24 pairs of earrings, six gold bangles, four diamond bracelets were among the missing jewellery.

