Burglars strike lawyer’s house in Gurgaon, make off with Rs 1.5 lakh, jewellery

Police said the burglars broke open a window to enter the house from the vacant plot behind it.

Burglars struck the locked house of a lawyer in DLF Phase 2 over the weekend and decamped with Rs1.5 lakh cash, including foreign currencies, and jewellery worth Rs 4.5 lakh. The family was away in Panipat for two days when the incident took place.

When the family returned on Monday, they found the cupboard open and cash and jewellery missing. Some items were thrown on the bed and floor. (HT Photo)

The police said the ground floor house (M 4/10) is the residence of Tarun Ailawadi, 33, his wife and son. He works with the legal team of Max Hospital in Okhla, Delhi.

Prima facie, it appears that the burglars broke open a window to enter the house from the vacant plot behind it, the police said. They then broke into the cupboard in which valuables were kept.

The cupboard in which the money and valuables were kept was found ransacked. (HT Photo)

When Tarun and his family returned on Monday, they found the main door locked from inside. When they broke the door, they saw that the cupboard was open and cash and jewellery missing. Some items were thrown on the floor and the bed.

“We were shocked to see that only the cupboard in which cash and jewellery were kept was broken into by the burglars. They knew where the cash and jewellery was kept,” Tarun said.

Tarun lodged a complaint at the DLF Phase 2 police station on Tuesday, following which an FIR was registered against unknown persons.

In his complaint, Tarun claimed that `1 lakh cash, jewellery (150 gm) worth `4.5 lakh and foreign currencies (euro, dirham and US dollars) were missing from the cupboard.

“We have filed an FIR under sections 454 (house breaking) and 380 (theft) of the IPC and the investigation is on,” a police spokesperson said.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that someone close to the family, who knew where the valuables were kept, is involved in the burglary, he said.

Police said instances like this, in which thieves broke in through the rear of the house, are quite common in the area. (HT Photo)

“It appears that someone known to the family is hand in glove with the burglars. Instances like this, in which thieves broke in through the rear of the house, are quite common in the area,” the officer said.

On May 9, burglars decamped with Rs 2.3 lakh cash and jewellery worth Rs 2.5 lakh from a senior citizen’s house in Sector 56 in broad daylight. The theft took place within an hour when the owner of the house, 70-year-old Rajinder Singh, went out to visit an ailing relative.