The Kandivli police are on the lookout for a domestic helper who allegedly stole cash and jewellery worth lakhs from his employer’s house a day before Lakshmi Puja, which fell on October 24. According to police sources, the accused, Shrikant Yadav, 33, had been working for the complainant, a 51-year-old architect, for more than 12 years.

The family, which resides at Mahavir Nagar, Kandivli West, entrusted Yadav with running the house. The key to the cupboard from where cash and jewellery were stolen had been lost months ago. “The complaint’s wife had given Yadav the responsibility of making a duplicate key, and he possibly made two keys and held on to one. Sensing an opportunity ahead of Diwali, he ran away with the valuables,” said an officer.