MUMBAI, July 25 -- A domestic helper who had worked for nearly two decades at the Worli residence of Maharashtra Legislative Council deputy chairperson Sachin Ahir has been arrested for allegedly stealing gold and diamond jewellery, silverware and cash worth Rs.2.65 crore over the past three years. Three other domestic workers are absconding, and the Mumbai Crime Branch has launched a search to trace them. Ahir, a senior Shiv Sena leader, is the deputy chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council and a former state minister. He has represented the Worli constituency in the past and currently holds the second-highest constitutional office in the Upper House of the state. Police identified the arrested accused as Pravin Solanki, 45, a resident of Nalasopara, who had been employed by the Ahir family for nearly 20 years. "We have arrested Pravin Solanki, who had the knowledge of everything in the house. We have recovered 325 grams of gold from a Mumbai-based jeweller to whom Solanki had sold the jewellery," said a police officer. The police said Solanki has been remanded in custody till July 28. Of the three absconding accused, two are from Uttar Pradesh and one is from Bihar. According to investigators, the alleged theft came to light only when the family began searching for a particular piece of jewellery that could not be found. A complaint was subsequently lodged by Ahir's son, Krishna Ahir, at the Worli police station, following which the case was transferred to the Mumbai Crime Branch's Unit III for investigation. The missing valuables include 100-gram gold biscuits, a diamond-studded gold band, five diamond necklaces, diamond rings, cash, silver glasses and an assortment of silver utensils, including jugs, plates and lotas....