Dacoits assault family in midnight strike, take away R1.5 lakh
Robbers armed with swords and steel rods injured five of a family as they struck at a house in Behra village, around 10 km from Dera Bassi on the Samgoli road, and decamped with cash and jewellery worth around Rs 1.5 lakh late Monday night. One seriously injured elderly woman is under treatment at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32.
Robbers armed with swords and steel rods injured five of a family as they struck at a house in Behra village, around 10 km from Dera Bassi on the Samgoli road, and decamped with cash and jewellery worth around Rs 1.5 lakh late Monday night. One seriously injured elderly woman is under treatment at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32.
The 7-8 robbers remained in the house for over an hour, but did not find as much money as they had expected, and thus assaulted the family. Police blamed a "Haryana-based gang". The masked robbers dressed in vests and briefs struck around 12.30am at the house of religious singer Swarn Singh Tarana.
Oil all over their body to escape grip, the men reportedly spoke in Hindi with a Haryanvi accent. Of the five rooms in the house, they locked four before targeting the room where Fateh Singh, his wife Jagmeet Kaur and nine-year-old daughter Jaspreet Kaur were present. Not finding much to loot, they assaulted them.
Then they moved to the room that Fateh's brother Jorawar Singh had bolted from inside but opened after robbers promised not to hurt him if he would hand over cash and jewellery. Fateh's father Swarn Singh and mother Harbhajan Kaur tried to raise the alarm, meanwhile, at which they were also assaulted. Harbhajan Kaur suffered head injuries besides a fractured arm. The robbers spared Amarjit Kaur and her daughter after they handed over their ornaments. They searched all the almirahs and trunks; two stolen trunks were found in the fields around 300 metres from the house the next morning.
Police reached the spot within 15 minutes after being contacted as the robbers fled. The injured were rushed to the Dera Bassi civil hospital in an ambulance and a police vehicle, from where Harbhajan was shifted to GMCH-32 while the others were discharged after first-aid.
Superintendent of police (SP) Anil Kumar said the robbers took away three gold rings, four pairs of earrings, two nosepins besides cash Rs 20,000. SSP Gurpreet Bhullar, CIA in-charge Gurcharan Singh, SHO Gurwant Singh and Zirakpur SHO Trilochan Singh also visited the spot while a dog squad and forensic team also carried out inspections. A case was registered under sections 457, 458 and 380 of the IPC. SSP Bhullar said police had ascertained the involvement of a Haryana-based gang and even booked one of its members by name. He claimed the culprits would be behind bars within 3-4 days.
This is not the first such incident in Behra. Four-year-old Jaskaran was abducted in January this year only to be found dead in the village well; the case remains unsolved.