Several armed men broke into a house in Ghaziabad on Tuesday early morning and robbed the family of jewellery and cash worth ₹13 lakh at gunpoint. The police have registered a case of dacoity (robbery committed by five or more persons) and said the family members have raised suspicions about one of their relatives.
The family told police that at least six armed men broke into their house in Chiranjeev Vihar’s Sector 9 around 1.30am Tuesday and fled around 4am with the valuables after threatening the occupants of the house with dire consequences if they tried to raise the alarm.
The Chiranjeev Vihar area is close to Harsaon police lines. The family later alleged that their calls to the police went unanswered.
“The men left our house around 4am Tuesday. The police did not take our calls and we had to go to the local police post to alert them about the robbery. As per our initial assessment, the robbers took away jewellery worth ₹11 lakh besides about ₹2 lakh in cash. They also took away money which my father had withdrawn on Monday,” said Kanchan Sharma, the house owner.
“They broke into the house by cutting through the window grilles. They were six in number and carrying weapons and knives. There are a total of 11 members, including children, living together in our family home. After they entered the house, they held the children at gunpoint. They tied us up and gaged us before ransacking the house,” Sharma said.
{{/usCountry}}“They broke into the house by cutting through the window grilles. They were six in number and carrying weapons and knives. There are a total of 11 members, including children, living together in our family home. After they entered the house, they held the children at gunpoint. They tied us up and gaged us before ransacking the house,” Sharma said.
{{/usCountry}}“They locked all of us in the bathroom. The men seemed to be in the age group of 35-40 years and were well built. They did not speak in the local dialect and seemed to be from eastern UP. After they were done looting, they got us out of the bathroom and locked us in one of the rooms. They left soon after,” she added.
Kalanidhi Nathani, senior superintendent of police (SSP), said the robbers fled with jewellery and cash. He declined to comment on whether there was a lack of adequate police patrolling in the area.
“We have roped in several teams and are also scanning the CCTV footage. The CCTV cameras at the house were not functional. The family informed us that six men broke into their house and fled with jewellery and cash. We are probing the case and are also trying to ascertain if any person known to the family was involved,” Naithani told reporters later in the day.
The police on the basis of complaint given by Sharma’s father, Bhopal Sharma, registered an FIR under IPC sections 395 (dacoity) and 397 (robbery with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) at the Kavi Nagat police station.
In his complaint, Bhopal Sharma has raised suspicions about one of his relatives who has a property dispute with him.
“While the robbers were in the house, they offered water to my son-in-law, telling him that he was their ‘mehman’ (term generally used for sons-in-law in western UP) and apologised for the incident,” the FIR stated.
“The family has raised suspicions about one of their relatives. So, we are investigating his role and are also working on other angles to crack the case,” Manish Mishra, superintendent of police (city), said.