Lady constable worked undercover as a maid in the Shah household.
Mumbai police had to resort to a clever subterfuge to crack the Karnit Shah kidnapping case — they sent in a female constable to work as a domestic help in the Shah residence so that she could spy on the family and report to them if something was amiss.
Five-year-old Karnit Shah (who was rescued by the police on April 19) had been abducted from his home on April 6. The family had immediately registered a missing person complaint with the police. But subsequently, perhaps out of shock, or fear of the kidnappers, were not able to co-operate fully with the police investigations, revealed police sources. The police, however, wanted to find out what was going on within the Shah family and how they were reacting to calls from the kidnappers.
“On April 7, when the Shahs’ maid came out of their house after finishing her chores, we took her aside and asked her to cooperate with us. We told her to inform the Shahs that she had fallen ill and won’t turn up for work for a few days but would send a replacement. We told her we’ll send a female constable to take her place. The maid did as she was told,” said a police official, requesting anonymity.
The big challenge for the cops was to quickly identify a lady constable who can speak and understand Gujarati well, as the Shahs were particular about employing only a Gujarati maid. On April 8, the police managed to find a female constable at Charkop police station who spoke Gujarati, could perform all the domestic chores, and also had the skill to work as a spy.
“She performed all the duties of a domestic help, such as dusting, cleaning, and cooking. But at the same time she also kept a close watch on the family members’ movements. Basically, we wanted to find out whether any relative was involved in the kidnapping, how the Shahs reacted if and when they received a ransom call, and whether or not they would inform the police about the call.” said the officer.
The officer added that there had been specific instructions from seniors not to grill the Shah family as they were traumatised by Karnit’s disappearance. The police, therefore, decided to work around this by planting their person within the family.
Asked how the constable-turned-maid went about sharing information with the cops, the police officer said, “Whenever she came out of the house for some work, or went home, she would call up and tells us everything that happened during the day at Karnit’s home and whether there was something amiss. She did her work very well and was called off the duty only after Karnit was safely rescued.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}