A 55-year-old Mumbai woman fell victim to Diwali sanitation scam and lost the value of her gold jewelery ₹4 lakhs. She had booked the cleaning service through a mobile app that sent two people to her home. It was claimed that the thieves stole valuable items during the cleaning work.

The incident highlights concerns about the safety and reliability of hiring cleaning staff through online platforms. Police arrested 27-year-old Arbaz Khan and detained two more people for questioning.

Robbery

Leena Mhatre, who lives in Rishikesh Community in Mumbai’s Dahisar district, booked cleaning services on October 21 in preparation for the Diwali festival. Booked the service of NoBroker app. The next morning, around 9 o’clock, two people came to his house. Supposedly while she was busy cleaning, Mhatre later discovered that her closet had been opened and her gold ornaments were missing.

Mhatre, who became aware of the theft only after the cleaners left, immediately approached the police to file a complaint. Authorities later arrested 27-year-old Arbaz Khan, who was identified as the prime suspect in the theft. After reviewing the CCTV footage of the community, the police identified two more persons, namely Santosh Omprakash Yadav and Sufiyan Nazeer Ahmad Soudar, who are currently being questioned.

Investigations and Regulations

police According to the Free Press Journal, they are investigating whether the NoBroker application verifies employees’ resumes before hiring. Constable Sandip Gorde said the regulations require all service workers, including cleaning staff, to be verified by police before being assigned to private residences.

Speaking to Lokmat, Gorde said, “We are investigating whether NoBroker verified these employees before appointing them. The application has blocked their identities since the incident.”

Despite the growing popularity of online cleaning services, there is a troubling lack of regulatory oversight in the industry. Most platforms promote themselves as trustworthy and professional, but few provide concrete evidence that employee background checks are thorough.

This incident reminds consumers that: Be careful when receiving services through digital platformsespecially in the absence of stringent regulatory measures. With diwali Soon, the need for caution is more urgent than ever.