The Marathahalli police have a huge operation which has involved seven special teams to arrest a Nepali couple accused of looting gold and diamond jewelry worth ₹18 crore from a prominent builder’s house. Identified as Dinesh (32) and his wife Kamala (25) (who also goes by the alias Salina), the suspects committed the heist 20 days after they’d been employed as domestic helpers.
The Day of the Heist
The incident took place in the home of M.R. Shivakumar Gowda, who is a prominent builder, in Yamalur, on Sunday, January 25, 2026. At a time when the family was away at the Bhoomi Pooja (ground-breaking ceremony), the couple used the empty house as a playground for their criminal plan.
According to police reports, the suspects exhibited chilling precision.
- Disabling Security: They reportedly cut off the power supply to the house so that CCTV cameras could go off before the theft happened.
- The Loot: Using iron rods, they broke open lockers on both the ground and first floors. They fled with 11.5 kg of gold and diamond jewelry, 5 kg of silver items, and ₹11.5 lakh in cash.
- The Discovery: Ambika, another domestic worker, discovered the ransacked house and reported the incident to the family at approximately 12:30 pm.
A History of Professional Crime
The investigation had found that this probably wasn't a one-off crime. This duo is believed to be “serial thieves,” specifically “professionals and serial thieves attacking high-net-worth individuals all over India.”
The same duo, who have similar aliases, allegedly robbed a retired government official of valuables worth ₹16 lakh in October 2025, police said. They are also suspected of similar thefts in the Bhavdhan area of Pune, where they worked for six months before emptying the family’s lockers.
The Analysis And Challenges
The Marathahalli police teams are conducting raids in Mumbai, Kolkata and near the Indo-Nepal border. "The couple entered the household without appropriate ID documents, thus making the initial tracing difficult," said a senior police official. "We suspect they have local associates who assisted with planning the getaway." If they cross into Nepal, the recovery process is hugely complicated by jurisdictional barriers.
The “acquaintances” (Vikash and Maya) who recommended the couple to the builder are under current scrutiny as authorities explore whether they were part of the larger organized syndicate that targeted the elite of Bengaluru.
A Lesson in Vigilance
This heist has been a wake-up call moment for Bengaluru residents. As per suggestions, the police have also once again encouraged citizens to carry out the compulsory Police Verification for all domestic staff. In this case, the family’s hard-earned savings of 30 years disappeared in a mere 30 minutes of calculated crime.
