Nepalese couple flees with Rs 1 crore in gold and cash after drugging Bengaluru family

BENGALURU: Even as city police chief B Dayananda was on Tuesday morning stressing the importance of being cautious while employing people from neighbouring countries as household workers, a Nepalese couple sedated their employer and his son and fled their north Bengaluru house with gold and cash worth nearly Rs 1 crore.Real estate businessman Govindaraju, 52, a resident of Sonappa Layout, and his younger son Mithun, 21, are undergoing treatment at a private hospital.According to a complaint filed by Govindaraju's elder son Nithinraj G with Amruthahalli police, their live-in employees for three weeks, Krishna and his wife Nisha from Nepal, had fled with more than 1kg of gold ornaments and Rs 2 lakh in cash.Govindaraju's wife left home on some work Tuesday morning as did Nithinraj. Around 9am, Nisha made tea and omelette for Govindaraju and Mithun, a III BBA student.Govindaraju and Mithun developed uneasiness and went to a nearby private hospital where Nithinraj rushed. The doctors informed him that the duo was suffering from food poisoning and suggested they be taken to another hospital with better facilities. The advice was followed. Soon after learning about food poisoning, Nithinraj suspected his employees. He rushed back home around 11.30am and found the couple missing and gold and cash in the wardrobe stolen. The employees' phones were switched off. He found that they had taken away all their belongings and also the family's scooter.Around this time, police commissioner Dayananda was speaking to the press about arrests made by city police in another theft committed by a Nepalese couple and their associates in a Jayanagar house and advised Bengalureans to exercise caution while employing people for domestic work.Alerted by Nithinraj, police visited the spot. "The couple had access to the wardrobe key. So, they easily stole the valuables. They sped away on Govindaraju's scooter and abandoned it near a park in the area and took an autorickshaw from there," a senior police officer said."The family is yet to inform us of the exact quantity of gold and cash missing. A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 306 (theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of master) and 123 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence)," the officer said.Govindaraju and Mithun, meanwhile, were shifted to wards from ICU and are said to be out of danger. Doctors told their family that there were traces of sleeping pills and poison in their bodies. A medical report is awaited to know what exactly was laced in the tea and omelette.Police commissioner B Dayananda said: “We have been asking people to be cautious about hiring people for their household chores or security. Their antecedents must be thoroughly verified. While hiring people especially from other states and countries, their documents need to be collected. When leaving home, ensure locks on certain rooms are not accessible to them.”