Thiruvananthapuram: A care worker who defrauded her mistress of millions of rupees, is being held in police custody in Kerala.

The woman worked as a home-based nurse for an elderly patient who was confined to a wheelchair in her residence in Aymanam near Kottayam.

The nurse is reported to have made away with about Rs7 million (Dh566,320) worth of ornaments and other articles, before the police caught up with her.

Reports say that the patient, Dr Rachel, who was previously based in France, had returned to Aymanam and hired the home nurse to help her get about the house.

Over a period of time, the nurse earned the trust of the home owner and started stealing money and ornaments, apparently after giving Dr Rachel sleeping pills in her food.

The care worker, identified as Viji, had been hired from Cherthala in Alappuzha district, and reports say that she had become friendly with a man from Cherthala. It is believed that this man was one of the beneficiaries of the hundreds of thousands of rupees that Viji was stealing from the house in Aymanam.

Detective

Local media reports say that the family, who began to suspect the home nurse, utilised the services of a private detective agency to track down the woman after she vanished from her employer's house overnight.

A large crowd gathered outside the house at Aymanam today to catch a glimpse of Viji, amidst reports that she would be brought to the house by police as part of the investigation procedures. Dr Rachel is said to have given a formal complaint to the police about valuables having been lost from her home, which included diamonds and gold jewellery as well as ornaments to the tune of over Rs6 million.

Viji is also said to have sold some household articles and a generator. Local police are expected to question other workers who were assisting Dr Rachel with her household needs.

The incident is expected to raise concern among many senior citizens, particularly those who have returned to the state, and are living their retired lives under the care of hired hands, without any of the immediate family members living with them.