Two men working as domestic help were arrested on Monday by the Gamdevi police for allegedly stealing jewels and cash worth Rs 40 lakh a day before Diwali.

Sanjay Diwadkar, senior police inspector at Gamdevi police station, said that on Diwali night, diamond merchant Manikchand Kothari was getting ready for Lakhmi pooja when he found jewellery and cash worth Rs 40 lakh missing from his cupboard.

Living on the 13th floor of Shreepati Arcade at Nana Chowk, he had six men working as domestic help for his family of three. Of the six, Chandu Yadav (30) and Prakash Pratiyar (17) were prime suspects.

“Since the lock on the cupboard was intact, Kothari suspected his domestic help and registered a case of theft with us,” a police officer from Gamdevi police station said on condition of anonymity. “On questioning, Chandu said Prakash was the one who had stolen the jewellery in Kothari’s absence over a month’s time,” he added.