Vimla is the domestic help for Shreya and her neighbour Padma

Analyse the following caselet and answer the questions that follow:

Vimla is the domestic help for Shreya and her neighbour Padma; both live in a posh gated community. Vimla not only cleans the house, but also cooks for both the families. Shreya treasures Vimla ever since she joined her family four years ago. Vimla joined Padma’s household this year.

1. One evening Shreya trying to pay the pizza delivery was surprised to find a few five hundred rupee notes missing from her purse that she was sure were there earlier. She wants to ascertain if someone has stolen the money. On reflecting, the following facts crossed her mind:

  1. In the last one year, Shreya had noticed cash missing on three occasions.
  2. Shreya’s husband also shared that a few notes were missing from his wallet, though he was not sure if they were stolen.
  3. Her eldest son had been pestering Shreya for more pocket money for the last three weeks; in the last few days, he had stopped doing so.
  4. In the last one year, Vimla had received six mails from her family asking for money.
  5. Her eldest son’s expenditure had gone up in the last few days.

Which of the following combinations of the above statements would DECREASE the likelihood that Vimla has stolen the money?

  1. 1 and 3
  2. 1 and 4
  3. 1 and 5
  4. 2 and 4
  5. 3 and 5

2. Padma discovered some money missing from her purse. She suspects that Vimla has stolen it. She wants to prevent the stealing from happening again and is contemplating the following actions:

  1. She should let it pass, since to err is human.
  2. She should confront Vimla and tell her that she knows the truth and the act is unpardonable regardless of her past service and she is thinking of terminating her services.
  3. She should tell Vimla that she is aware someone has stolen money from the house but is not sure who it is.
  4. She should share with Vimla that neighbours think Vimla has stolen the money she doesn’t, but is interested in finding out the truth.
  5. She should directly ask Vimla if she stole the money, promising her no punishment if she confesses.

Arrange the following combinations of the above actions in the DECREASING order of appropriateness.

  1. 1, 5, 4
  2. 2, 4, 1
  3. 2, 5, 4
  4. 3, 5, 4
  5. 5, 2, 4

Answers

  1. E
  2. D

In the first question, statements 3 and 5 indicate that her eldest son has stolen money.

In the second question, since Padma only suspects and there is no proof that Vimla has stolen money, statement 2 is not appropriate. Statement 1 is also not appropriate as Padma wants to prevent the stealing from happening again, so she should take some action.