Delhi: Dacoits kill man, hold two hostage

A group of seven masked dacoits, armed with daggers and a pistol, broke into the Preet Vihar residence of a retired director of prosecution of the Delhi government, smothered his son to death and decamped with cash and jewellery worth over Rs. 2 lakh in the early hours of Thursday.

A group of seven masked dacoits, armed with daggers and a pistol, broke into the Preet Vihar residence of a retired director of prosecution of the Delhi government, smothered his son to death and decamped with cash and jewellery worth over Rs. 2 lakh in the early hours of Thursday.

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The daring dacoity in east Delhi’s Madhuban Colony took place between 2.30 am and 3.30 am. The dacoits first held the 70-year-old retired senior lawyer, Sumer Kumar Datta, and his wife, Prabha Datta, 65, hostage and tied them with clothes before ransacking the house. The deceased was identified as Animesh Datta, 32, who was unmarried and unemployed.

Deputy commissioner of police (east) Prabhakar said the dacoits entered the house through a window in the drawing room — which is on the ground floor — by removing the iron grill attached to it.

The elderly couple woke up on hearing the commotion. “But the robbers overpowered them before they could raise an alarm. They asked them to cooperate and said their intention was not to hurt them,” said Prabhakar, quoting Datta’s statement.

The husband and wife handed over the keys of the almirah from which the robbers took out Rs. 25,000 and some jewellery. According to Datta, they heard his son’s scream from the adjacent room where he was sleeping after some robbers went there.

After the robbers left, the Dattas managed to untie themselves and rushed to Animesh’s room where they found him lying unconscious with his hands and legs tied with clothes. He was rushed to Max hospital where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.