The NCP leader's house is near Pethapur village on outskirts of Gandhinagar. (Representational)
Cash and jewellery worth Rs 5 lakh have been stolen from former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela's house near Ahmedabad allegedly by a domestic help from Nepal, the police said.
The theft at the residence of Mr Vaghela, a former Congress leader who is now in the NCP, took place in October last year, but a police complaint was lodged only Sunday by Vaghela's employee Suryasinh Chavda, they said.
Mr Vaghela's house, a palatial bungalow named 'Vasant Vagado', is situated near Pethapur village on the outskirts of the Gandhinagar city.
As per the complaint lodged with the Pethapur police, a couple -- Shambhu Gorkha aka Basudev Nepali and his wife Sharda -- had allegedly stolen Rs 3 lakh in cash and gold jewellery worth Rs 2 lakh and fled to their native place in Kailali district of Nepal.
The cash and jewellery were kept in Mr Vaghela's wife Gulab Baa's room in the bungalow, the police said.
According to Mr Chavda's complaint, suspicion fell on the husband-wife duo after they did not return from Nepal as promised when they left for their native place, the police said.
"Shambhu was hired around four years back. He along with his wife and kids used to live in the bungalow premises. In October, the couple left for their native place in Nepal claiming they wanted to admit their children in a school there," said Mr Chavda in the complaint.
On February 7, Mr Vaghela's wife noticed that cash and jewellery worth Rs 5 lakh, meant to be used for a marriage function in the family and kept in a cupboard, were missing, said police sub inspector of Pethapur AG Anurkar.
"When the family asked other servants about the missing valuables, it came to light the couple was tasked with cleaning of the room where they were kept. When Chavda contacted Shambhu over the phone, he promised to return soon."
"However, when he did not return, it got confirmed that the couple had stolen the valuables from the room and then fled to Nepal," said Anurkar, adding an investigation in the case is underway.