A 55-year-old woman from Mumbai fell victim to a Diwali cleaning scam, losing gold ornaments. ₹4 lakhs. She had booked the cleaning service through a mobile app, which sent two people to her home. The thieves allegedly stole the valuables during the cleaning work.

The incident highlights concerns about the safety and reliability of hiring cleaners through online platforms. Police arrested Arbaz Khan, 27, and detained two others for questioning.

The robbery

Leena Mhatre, who lives in the Rishikesh society of Dahisar in Mumbai, booked the cleaning service on October 21 in preparation for the Diwali festival. She booked the service of NoBroker app. Two people arrived at her home the next morning around 9am. While they were supposedly engaged in cleaning, Mhatre later discovered that her cupboard had been opened and her gold ornaments were missing.

Realizing the theft only after the cleaners had left, Mhatre quickly contacted the police to file a complaint. Authorities have since arrested 27-year-old Arbaz Khan, identified as the prime suspect in the theft. After examining the CCTV footage from the society, the police identified two other persons, Santosh Omprakash Yadav and Sufiyan Nazeer Ahmad Soudar, who are currently being questioned.

Investigations and Regulations

The police is investigating whether the NoBroker app conducted pre-employment background checks on employees, the Free Press Journal reports. Officer Sandip Gorde said regulations require police vetting of all service employees, including cleaning staff, before assigning them to private residences.

“We look at whether NoBroker vetted these employees before assigning them. The app has blocked their IDs since the incident,” Gorde told Lokmat.

Despite the growing popularity of online cleaning services, there is a worrying lack of regulatory oversight in the sector. Most platforms promote themselves as reliable and professional, but few provide concrete evidence of thorough employee vetting.

This incident serves as a stark reminder to consumers be cautious when hiring services through digital platformsespecially in the absence of strict regulatory measures. With Diwali just around the corner, the need for vigilance is more pressing than ever.