4 men barge into Goa businessman’s house at midnight, rob them of gold, cash
Police said the robbers locked Jaiprakash Dempo, 77, in the toilet and tied his wife, Padmini, 70, to the bed before spending the next four hours ransacking the house
PANAJI: The Goa police on Monday said it has formed multiple teams to track down a gang of at least four armed robbers who broke into a prominent Goa businessman’s house and robbed them of gold and cash.
Police said the robbers, armed with knives, struck around Saturday midnight when they barged into their bungalow in state capital Panaji’s Dona Paula locality after tying up the security guard.
Jaiprakash Dempo, 77, and his wife Padmini Dempo, 70, were at home. Police said the robbers locked Jaiprakash in the toilet and tied his wife to the bed before spending the next four hours ransacking the house. They left around 4am on Sunday with an unspecified amount of gold and about ₹3 lakh in cash.
A police officer familiar with the investigation said the family has reported 1 kg gold was missing.
“Four to five unidentified persons entered the residence of the victim at Nagali Hills, Dona Paula, and committed robbery of ornaments and cash. In this connection, an FIR has been registered at Panaji Police Station… Multiple teams of Goa Police have been formed to investigate the case and trace the accused at the earliest,” superintendent of police (crime) Rahul Gupta, said.
The robbery was discovered on Sunday morning when the family’s household help reached the house and found the elderly couple tied up.
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao hit out at the administration for what he described as a “collapse of law and order in the state.
“It is shocking to see that robbers armed with daggers have now started to target houses, even those with security guards and senior citizens. Nobody is safe in Goa as robbers have overpowered [the] police system, which is non-functional and patrolling by police is ineffective. Nakabandis are conducted only after crime happens. Police should stress on prevention of crimes rather than boasting on detection,” he said.
