The Amboli police have registered a case against a 37-year-old house help for stealing gold ornaments worth Rs34.49 lakh from the house of actress and model Neha Malik, 32, on April 25, in Char Bunglow, Andheri West.
As per the FIR, Neha’s mother, Manju, occasionally wore gold ornaments to functions. After returning home, she would remove them and keep them in a wooden drawer in the bedroom, which was not locked. The house help, Shehnaz Mustafa Shaikh, who resides in Malad West, knew about the ornaments because Manju Malik (Neha’s mother) had worn and removed them in front of her several times, leaving them in the drawer.

The family had given a key to Shaikh so she could open the door and do household chores when they were not home. On April 25, Neha went out for work, and her mother went to the Gurudwara between 7.50am and 9am. Shaikh was alone in the house and did not show up for work the next day. Neha soon discovered that the ornaments were missing. After Neha returned home, both she and her mother searched the house but could not find the missing gold. The FIR was filed under section 306 (theft by servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.