New Delhi: A 60-year-old man was killed allegedly by robbers who ransacked his house in Rohini and decamped with ₹1.5 lakh in cash and gold jewellery on Tuesday, police said on Wednesday.
Police have arrested three accused in the case, including the victim’s niece, who is also the mastermind of the robbery.
According to police, the victim, Rakesh Khanna, a property dealer, who was also a cardiac patient, lived with his wife in Rohini Sector 3. He had recently sold a property of ₹75 lakh.
Police said on Tuesday evening, Khanna was alone at home as his wife had gone to a local fair. When his wife reached home around 8:15 pm, she found the house ransacked and her husband lying unconscious on the floor of a room, police said.
“The man was rushed to the hospital by his family members but was declared dead on arrival. Police were alerted and, with an FSL team, inspected the crime scene,” deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Shashank Jaiswal said.
Family members said ₹1.5 lakh in cash and gold jewellery articles were missing.
{{/usCountry}}Family members said ₹1.5 lakh in cash and gold jewellery articles were missing.
{{/usCountry}}Police said the probe revealed that around 7:30 pm, three people entered the house while the fourth kept watch outside.
The DCP said police checked old footage of a nearby CCTV and found the accused conducting recce of the house.
“An August 30 footage shows that the accused was conducting a recce. Other CCTVs were scanned, and a woman was also spotted among the accused,” the DCP said.
Police identified the woman as the 23-year-old niece of the victim.
“The woman was arrested. During the interrogation, she told the police that she had roped others to conduct a recce and then a burglary. On Tuesday, they thought the house would be empty, but when they saw the victim inside the house, they panicked and smothered him to death,” said the officer.
The woman said she found out from her mother that her uncle had sold a property for ₹75 lakh and hence planned a robbery.
The woman said she planned the burglary for Tuesday because she knew the couple had planned to attend a fair, but didn’t know the victim had cancelled the visit at the last minute due to health issues.
She worked as a primary school teacher at a private school in Kanjhawala but had recently lost her job, police said.
Police have also arrested two of her associates, a 23-year-old gym trainer and an 18-year-old Class 12th student. Police said another accused, a gym owner, is on the run and raids are being conducted to nab him.
“The sequence of events is being ascertained, and a probe is underway,” DCP said.