PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
An Instagram post led to a woman’s arrest after she posed while wearing an expensive diamond necklace which exposed a theft she had committed nearly a year ago in a house where she was working as a domestic help.
According to the complaint filed in Rajpur police station by IT Park area resident Nitisha Vats, diamond and gold jewellery estimated to be worth Rs 10 lakh had gone missing from her home about a year ago. The family believed that the ornaments had either been kept somewhere else or given to a relative. No one suspected the domestic help Vimla (34) who was trusted by the family.
Superintendent of police (City) Pramod Kumar said that the case came to light after an acquaintance of the complainant came across an Instagram post in which a woman was seen wearing the same diamond necklace that had gone missing from the house. On taking a closer look, they identified the woman as the former domestic help Vimla. Vats then lodged a complaint at Rajpur police station, following which police launched an investigation.
Based on technical evidence and information from a source, the accused was arrested from Johri Road. During questioning, Vimla confessed that she had stolen the diamond and gold jewellery from the locker while working at the house. She later managed to convince the family that the jewellery might have been kept somewhere else, removing any suspicion of theft. She also admitted that she wanted to sell some of the stolen jewellery but could not find a buyer.
Meanwhile, the Instagram post in which she wore the expensive necklace became the biggest piece of evidence against her. Based on the accused’s disclosure, police recovered a diamond necklace worth around Rs 10 lakh, a gold locket, two rings, a pendant and a mobile phone. The SP said that special teams were formed after the complaint was received and the entire stolen jewellery was recovered following the accused’s arrest. He said that the case highlights how showing off on social media can sometimes become the strongest evidence against criminals.
