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Robbers set elderly man afire, flee with ₹1.2L from house in Ludhiana
Incident took place at the high-security Ludhiana Central Jail Complex; victim was alone at home at the time
In a shocking incident, a 90-year-old man was burnt alive, allegedly by some robbers who barged into his house in the high-security Ludhiana Central Jail Complex on Thursday night. The robbers took away ₹1.2 lakh and some gold jewellery from the house.
The victim, Jamaldin, was home alone at the time as his family had gone out for Eid celebrations.
This is the second cold-blooded murder reported from Ludhiana in the last two days. On Thursday morning, police had found dismembered parts of a man’s body on the railway tracks near Sherpur.
Other family members were out for Eid celebrations
The victim’s grandson, Abdul Gaffar, works as a clerk in the office of additional director general of police (ADGP, prisons) in Chandigarh, and was allotted a residential quarter at the jail complex by the department. The family of four, including the grandfather, Gaffar’s wife and son, lived here.
Gaffar’s uncle, Abdul Hamid, said that the rest of the family had gone out to celebrate Eid on Thursday evening. When they returned home around 10pm, they saw smoke billowing out of their house. As they rushed in, they saw Jamaldin’s charred body lying on the bed.
The family also noticed that two gold rings that Jamaldin permanently wore were missing while some half-burnt currency notes were also lying on the floor. The family later discovered that at least ₹1.2 lakh cash and some jewellery was missing from the house.
₹7.5 lakh was burgled from house 2 months ago
Family members said that ₹7.5 lakh had been burgled from their house in February too, but police had failed to crack the case. “The same gang must be behind my father’s murder. Had the police cracked the case, my father’s life could have been saved,” said Abdul Hamid.
He further said that some insider may be behind the crime as no one can enter the jail complex without checking.
Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Ashok Kumar said a case has been registered under Section 460 (all persons jointly concerned in lurking, house trespass or housebreaking by night, punishable where death or grievous hurt is caused by one of them) of the Indian Penal Code against unidentified accused.
As per sources, closed-circuit television cameras showed three suspicious persons roaming around the jails complex. “We are looking at the case from all angles,” said the ACP.
