Hyderabad Police Urge Mandatory Verification

of Domestic Workers Amid Rising Theft Cases

Report By Y-Trendz

Hyderabad, July 27, 2026 — Faced with a sustained rise in thefts committed by domestic help, the Hyderabad City Police have called on residents to make police verification of domestic workers a

mandatory practice before hiring, warning that employer negligence in conducting background checks has become a significant driver of property crime across the city.

Scale of the Problem

According to data released by the police, 565 servant theft cases were registered across Hyderabad over the past two years, comprising 65 grave offences and 500 non-grave cases. Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar said the pattern of victimisation was consistent enough to identify clear categories of vulnerability, with IT professionals, students living alone, senior citizens and business establishments emerging as the most frequently targeted groups.

Zone-wise figures show a marked concentration of cases in specific parts of the city. Jubilee Hills recorded the highest number of incidents at 173, followed by Secunderabad with 88 cases, Khairatabad with 77, Golconda with 70, Rajendranagar with 63, Shamshabad with 49 and Charminar with 45. The clustering in affluent, high-density residential zones has reinforced police concerns that criminals are deliberately targeting households where valuables are more likely to be present and oversight is comparatively lax.

How the Crimes Unfold

Police officials described a consistent pattern in how such thefts are carried out. Domestic workers involved in these crimes typically spend time earning their employer's trust before studying household routines, identifying where valuables and keys are stored, and noting blind spots in CCTV coverage. In several recent cases, organised gangs — some originating from other states and even from abroad — allegedly infiltrated homes by posing as domestic workers before executing planned thefts.

The pattern has echoes in specific recent incidents that appear to have prompted the latest advisory. In one case in a gated community in Jawaharnagar, a doctor couple was reportedly sedated and tied up by a domestic worker in May before the accused fled with gold, silver ornaments and cash. Investigators said the accused had staged a fake birthday party at the servant quarters as a pretext to gather accomplices before the crime. Four Nepali nationals were subsequently arrested in connection with a related dacoity case in the same area.

What Police Are Asking Residents to Do

The Hyderabad City Police have laid out a specific set of precautions for households and business establishments looking to hire domestic help. Residents have been advised to collect Aadhaar cards or other valid identity documents, recent photographs, permanent address details and contact numbers of prospective employees before finalising a hire. Employers have also been asked to verify previous employment records, complete police verification through the nearest police station, and closely monitor new workers during their initial weeks on the job.

Police verification for domestic help remains a free service, and residents can apply either in person at a local police station or, in areas covered by community policing drives, through digital channels. Officials also urged residents to immediately report any suspicious behaviour, missing keys or sudden unexplained absence of domestic workers by calling the Dial 100 emergency helpline or reaching out to the Hyderabad City Police WhatsApp helpline.

A Broader Verification Push

The advisory builds on a wider verification and database initiative that Telangana police have been rolling out over recent months. Telangana Director General of Police CV Anand had earlier ordered a statewide drive to compile details of domestic workers, including those arriving from Nepal and other states, into a centralised database intended to support background verification and monitoring. Separately, the Hyderabad City Police's Mee Suraksha community policing initiative has been conducting enumeration and verification drives across roughly 550 residential colonies, gated communities and apartment complexes, capturing data on domestic helpers, drivers, cooks, caretakers and watchmen through a digital app as well as self-registration forms, in coordination with Resident Welfare Associations and apartment societies.

Police have framed the push not merely as an administrative requirement but as a matter of shared civic responsibility, arguing that verification works most effectively when residents treat it as routine practice rather than an occasional formality. With Hyderabad's rapid urban growth, expanding migrant workforce and rising reliance on domestic help among nuclear and dual-income households, officials say sustained public cooperation with verification drives will be central to closing the gaps that such crimes have exploited.

The Hyderabad City Police have indicated that verification and outreach efforts will continue across residential zones in the coming months, with Resident Welfare Associations and gated community managements expected to play an active role in ensuring compliance among residents.