Malad resident took cash, gold from her maid on the pretext of investment and promised high returns, but never returned them
In a role reversal of sorts, a woman from Malad has been arrested for cheating her house help. The Malad police were investigating a cheating case where the woman had taken 50 gm of gold from her house help in the name of making an investment. Investigations revealed that this was not the first house help she has cheated. "On reliable information, we caught and arrested the accused," said a police officer from Malad police station.
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Patricia D'Souza, the employer
Took gold from house help
The incident came to light when the Malad police arrested a 33-year-old woman, Patricia D'Souza, on the complaint of a 28-year-old house help, Laxmi Devendran. She claimed that D'Souza had borrowed a 50-gm gold ornament from her stating that she needed it urgently and promised to return twice the cost of the chain to her in a few months.
After a few months, as per the deal, when Laxmi demanded her ornament back, she was given a cheque of R2 lakh. But, when Laxmi asked D'Souza to return her gold she was fired. Speaking to mid-day, Laxmi said, "D'Souza shared some of her financial plans and asked me for an investment in terms of gold and promised to return double the valuation of the gold in two months. Two months later, when I asked for my gold, she sacked me. She did not pay my two months salary, which amounted to R21,000. I finally approached the Malad police station and registered a complaint. After a continuous follow-up, the Malad police have arrested her."
More people cheated
Interestingly, just a few hours after she was arrested, many people started coming forward to tell the police that they, too, had been cheated by D'Souza.
Another victim, Surekha Sarsar, 37, who worked as a house help for D'Souza in 2016, said she had been cheated on the pretext of providing her with a personal loan. She told the cops that D'Souza took R5 lakh in cash and 51 gm of gold from her.
Sarsar told mid-day, "D'Souza said she was a social activist working for the rights of the poor. She told me if I needed a loan, she would get it done for me. As my family condition is not that good, I asked for a loan of Rs 10 lakh to help give my sister and mother a better life. We were told that the amount would be sanctioned without any interest."
She added, "I gave her gold ornaments belonging to my two sisters and me against mortgage. She also took R5 lakh stating that it would be charges for sanctioning the loan. But, months passed and the loan was not sanctioned. When I asked D'Souza for the money, she fired me from the job without two months salary. She gave me a cheque of R5 lakh and said once the loan amount was sanctioned, return this cheque. When I frequently called and asked for my salary, she threatened me saying if I went to the police she would complain that I had stolen her cheque. I have been visiting different police stations and higher officials to register my complaint, but no one has helped me yet."
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