Condolence meet turns robbery site

It was supposed to be a condolence meeting for Deepak Khanija’s 96-year-old grandfather.

But, in a bizarre turn of events, it became a scene for a daring robbery. A bunch of robbers barged into the condolence meeting and allegedly made away with Rs 15 lakhs in cash and jewellery.

Khanija, a garment trader, said five assailants barge into his house. The assailants held his family and 20 other relatives at gunpoint for over 15 minutes.

The incident occurred on Tuesday at 12.20 p.m. in Northwest Delhi’s Saraswati Vihar area.

Khanija had organised a condolence meeting for his grandfather Kundan Lal who died on Tuesday.

“Khanija, along with his wife and children, had gone to Rani Bagh area to buy some things. His parents, grandmother and other relatives who had come to attend the meeting, were at home when the assailants came to the house,” a senior police officer said on the condition of anonymity, as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

The police said three of the assailants entered from the main door and were holding pistols; two others entered through the corridor.

The robbers brandished weapons and threatened to kill everyone if they would raise an alarm.

“The assailants first locked all the entrance and exit gates and then asked the women of the house to part with their jewellery items they were wearing. Fearing the assailants may harm them, the women handed over their jewellery to the assailants,” the officer added.

Khanija’s father was standing near the entrance door of a bedroom. “He somehow got a chance to push the assailant and lock himself in the room. He immediately informed the police,” the officer said.

Joint Commissioner of Police (northern range) Karnal Singh said it to be a case of dacoity.

A relative of Khanija said three of the assailants were wearing black sunglasses while one of them had covered his face with a white handkerchief. He alleged that the police took time to reach the spot.

“Ten minutes after the PCR call was made, a police personnel who identified himself as Vijender Singh asked about the location of our house and the PCR van reached 15 minutes after that,” he said.

First Published: Jun 29, 2010 23:32 IST