Domestic help drugs family, robs house

A domestic help allegedly drugged a senior citizen, his son and two other servants, in the city’s posh Defence Colony locality and made away with cash and valuables on Saturday night, reports Ravi Bajpai.

A domestic help allegedly drugged a senior citizen, his son and two other servants, in the city’s posh Defence Colony locality and made away with cash and valuables on Saturday night, police said.

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HB Saxena, 77, a retired engineer, lives alone in his Block C bungalow. His wife had passed away earlier this month. His son Somesh Saxena had flown in from the US for his mother’s last rites.

On Saturday evening, the father, son and two other domestic helps were allegedly drugged by Raju, a servant hired recently. He served them dinner laced with drugs. Somesh’s four-year-old son Priyanshu, who had skipped dinner, was asleep when the incident took place, police said.

All four were recuperating at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences till late Sunday evening.

Police said Raju, who is the prime suspect, was absconding. His police verification had not been done. “The entire house was ransacked. We can’t ascertain the loss since the victims are still in hospital,” said Anil Shukla, DCP (South).

Saxena had kept valuables in a locker, but cash, including the dollars that Somesh was carrying, was kept in the cupboards, sources said.

About two months ago, another of Saxena’s domestic helps had made off with around Rs 2.4 lakh. His verification too had not been done, police said. The condition of one of the servants, who had suffered a heart attack recently, is critical, the police said.