“The housemaid, who is the main suspect, was hired by the complainant's family through an online portal. The family is yet to submit any servant verification to the local police,” the SSP said.Four personnel of the Uttarakhand Excise & Taxation Department were arrested in Uttarakhand’s Rudrapur in connection with the theft of valuables worth more than Rs 1 crore from the residence of a hotelier in Shimla earlier this month, Shimla police said on Tuesday.Police personnel of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, in a joint operation, arrested the four accused persons and seized nearly 80 per cent of the stolen property, including jewellery and other valuables, police said, adding hotelier Renu Baljees identified the recovered articles. Police said efforts are underway to trace the remaining valuables.Police identified the arrested accused as Sub-Inspector Devendra Kumar, 56, Constable Baljeet Singh, 35, and Prantiya Rakshak Dal (PRD) Constables Naeem, 36, and Pappu Lal, 37 — all residents of Uttarakhand.On September 8, Baljees reported the theft at her residence on the previous night, September 7, alleging that her housemaid, along with her associates, fled after stealing valuables, including jewellery items and cash, from her house.Police sources said during the investigation, it was found that the domestic help, a native of Nepal, played a key role in the theft. Police said on the night of September 7, the maid, identified as Karishma, mixed a sedative in the food of her employer, rendering him unconscious. She was subsequently joined by three associates, and they fled with gold and diamond jewellery, silver coins, expensive watches and cash, police said.Based on Baljees complaint on September 8, a case was registered at the Sadar police station under Section 306 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).According to police sources, the investigators initially suspected that the maid and her associates travelled from Shimla to Delhi and then proceeded towards Rudrapur in a bid to escape into Nepal.Story continues below this adInvestigators traced the suspects’ movements through CCTV footage and other technical evidence, which took them to the Rudrapur-Rampur border, where a vehicle carrying the stolen articles was reportedly intercepted by personnel of the Uttarakhand Excise & Taxation Department on September 8, police sources said.According to police sources, the four accused allegedly intercepted the maid and her aides, who were attempting to flee with the stolen articles from Baljees’ residence, but instead of handing the stolen articles to the police, they allegedly took possession of a substantial portion of the valuables and allowed the maid and her accomplices to escape into Nepal.A police officer said, “The role of the four Uttarakhand personnel came to light during the examination of the footage and other evidence collected from the border checkpoint and further questioning.”Shimla SSP Gaurav Singh said, “Our investigation established that the four suspects were in touch with a housemaid, a native of Nepal, who, along with her two associates, had stolen valuables from the house of her employer. The four suspects were remanded in police custody for further interrogation.”Story continues below this ad“The housemaid, who is the main suspect, was hired by the complainant’s family through an online portal. The family is yet to submit any servant verification to the local police,” the SSP said.