The accused had allegedly removed the elderly woman's gold bangles one by one and replaced them with imitation jewellery in an attempt to avoid suspicion.

The accused has been identified as Anita Ramchandra Sutar (45), a resident of Mulegaon in Solapur district. She was arrested by the Airport Police after a complaint was lodged by the victim's son.

According to police, Ajay Rajkumar Kanotra lives with his elderly mother at Konark Campus in Viman Nagar and had hired four women caretakers to look after her. Anita Sutar was employed as a live-in caregiver who was responsible for the woman's daily care.

The alleged theft was firstly highlighted on May 21, when Sutar informed Kanotra that one of the four gold bangles worn by his mother was missing. Despite searching the house, the family could not locate it. As a precaution, Kanotra photographed the remaining three bangles on his mobile phone.

A few days later, after returning from an outstation trip, Kanotra noticed that the bangles on his mother's wrists looked different. A comparison was made with the earlier photographs revealed that the original gold ornaments had allegedly been replaced with nearly identical fake bangles.

Based on the complaint, Airport Police had questioned all four caretakers. During the investigation, officers reportedly found inconsistencies in Anita Sutar's statements. Sustained questioning led to her alleged confession, in which she admitted that she had stealed the jewellery and replaced it with imitation bangles to hide the crime.

Police have recovered the stolen gold bangles along with silver utensils, including glasses and a ceremonial lamp which is collectively valued at around ₹7 lakh. Further investigation is in process to determine whether the accused was involved in any similar offences earlier.