Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Nov 7: The city police have registered a separate theft case against a 29-year-old domestic help who was arrested for allegedly killing her employer’s pet dog inside a lift on November 1.
Pushpalatha, a native of Tamil Nadu, was employed by Rashika K. R., an MBA student, to look after her pet. She was arrested on Sunday. On the same day, a second FIR was filed accusing her of stealing Rashika’s jewellery — a gold necklace, a gold ring, and a diamond ring.
Police have booked her under Section 306 (theft by clerk or servant of property belonging to their master or employer) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Pushpalatha had been working in Rashika’s house for the past one-and-a-half months for a monthly salary of Rs 23,000. She was also provided accommodation in the same apartment, officers said.
Rashika told The Indian Express that she is still struggling to comprehend the incident. “The dog was four years old. I had hired Pushpalatha only to take care of the dog. On the day of the incident, she took the dog out for a walk, and within five minutes, she returned and said that the dog was lying unconscious. I rushed to the spot and thought he had died of a heart attack,” she said on Tuesday.
Rashika added that she had no prior suspicions. “Pushpalatha was doing her work without any fight or argument. On Monday, I took the dog’s body to be buried in Kengeri, and Pushpalatha said she would stay back in the flat. That was the first time I grew suspicious,” she said.
CCTV footage later revealed Pushpalatha brutally throwing the dog inside the lift. “Even after arrest, when I and the police asked why she killed the dog, she did not respond properly but remained silent,” Rashika said.
According to the police, during interrogation, Pushpalatha claimed she was frustrated by the pet’s continuous barking.