Interior designer held hostage at knifepoint, house robbed
A 22-year-old interior designer was held hostage at knifepoint by three masked men before they decamped with gold jewellery and valuables worth lakhs from her east Delhi residence on Tuesday afternoon. The jewellery was meant for an upcoming marriage in the family.
A 22-year-old interior designer was held hostage at knifepoint by three masked men before they decamped with gold jewellery and valuables worth lakhs from her east Delhi residence on Tuesday afternoon. The jewellery was meant for an upcoming marriage in the family.
Prabhakar, deputy commissioner of police (east), said the incident occurred between 2:30 and 3 pm when Aditi Jain was alone at her three-storey residence in Surajmal Vihar.
“The family was away shopping for a function and the victim was on the first floor when the incident happened. The assailants exited by dismantling an iron grill located behind the house,” Prabhakar said.
The victim’s father, Naveen Jain, owns and operates a wedding card-printing business in Chawri Bazar. His son and Aditi’s elder brother Vivek is due to get married on February 7.
Police said the assailants held Aditi hostage after she walked in on them as they were gathering valuables in bedsheets from her father’s room.
“She realised that something was amiss when she saw a light switched on in her father’s room and the door slightly ajar. When she went in, she saw three masked men wearing black clothes putting jewellery into a cloth,” said a police officer.
While the police are certain about the assailants’ exit point, investigators were yet to ascertain as to from where did they gained entry into the residence.
“There is some carpentry work being done on the first floor of the residence and we are questioning the labour involved. They chose to target the house since they were certain there were lots of jewels to be pilfered,” the officer said.
The police said they were yet to be given an estimate of the valuables stolen from the house and a case of robbery had been registered.