Elderly woman held hostage, house looted

Armed criminals struck at a house in the posh sector 15, in broad daylight on Tuesday, held the lone occupant, an elderly woman, hostage at gun-point and went on a looting spree. HT reports

Armed criminals struck at a house in the posh sector 15, in broad daylight on Tuesday, held the lone occupant, an elderly woman, hostage at gun-point and went on a looting spree.

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The gang decamped with cash and ornaments worth lakhs of rupees. The police reached the spot, but did not bother to take fingerprints from the crime scene or brought dog squad for preliminary investigation.

The victim’s daughter, Chitra, who stays in sector 11 with her husband, rued police inaction. The police have detained some domestic helps suspecting them to be linked to the crime. Security for the elderly in Noida continues to be lax. There is no helpline in place to take calls in distress.

Due to their physical weakness and lonely status, senior citizens are easy targets for criminals — especially in urban surroundings.

Police said criminals raided the house (A 183) of 65-year-old Rama Seth at 3.30pm. She stays alone as her husband died a few years ago. She has two daughters, both married.

A fear-stricken Rama offered to criminals that they could take whatever they wanted in lieu of her life. The looting spree continued for a good 45 minutes. The criminals decamped with 25 tolas of gold jewellery worth R5 lakhs and R10,000 in cash.

Around 5pm, she raised an alarm only when the criminals had made good their escape. On getting information, police reached but hardly did anything. Police said there was no dog squad in Noida (it has to be brought from Ghaziabad).

“There was no point in taking fingerprints as the scene of crime had been disturbed by visitors,” said officer Harsh Bhadoria. “We have asked the lady to submit a written compliant,” he added.