Domestic help drugs Panchkula family, flees with valuables

A domestic help and his accomplices allegedly made off with cash, gold, and other valuables worth Rs 80,000 after drugging the family members by spiking their dinner on January 7.

In a complaint to the police, Jai Bhagwan Bansal, a resident of Sector 11, reported that Shyam Bahadur, a help recently hired through a reference, mixed an intoxicant in the dinner. “We had dinner served by Shyam Bahadur. Soon, we all fell unconscious. When we regained consciousness around 8.30 am, we found the cupboards ransacked, and Shyam missing,” said Bansal.

Bansal scrutinised the CCTV footage which showed Shyam Bahadur leaving the house with two accomplices, carrying stolen items. “The footage clearly showed him conspiring with others to loot our house. He even stole the DVR to erase evidence,” Bansal complained.

The stolen items included cash, gold jewellery, and other valuables, the exact details of which are being compiled by the complainant.

A case has been registered under Sections 127 and 306 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Sector 5 police station. “We are investigating the matter and have launched an operation to locate the suspects and recover the stolen items. The footage and other evidence will aid us in tracking down the culprits,” said a police spokesperson.

The police have urged residents to conduct thorough background checks before hiring domestic helps to avoid such incidents.