Family robbed of cash, jewellery worth ₹13 lakh at gunpoint in UP’s Ghaziabad

The family alleged that their calls to the police were not answered.

Several armed men broke into the house of a family in Ghaziabad and robbed them of jewellery and cash worth ₹13 lakh at gunpoint early on Tuesday morning. The cops said that they are investigating the incident and also probing if any known person was behind the dacoity (robbery committed by five or more persons).

The thieves broke into the house by cutting through the window grille. They were six in number and were carrying weapons and knives. (HT Photo)

The family said that at least six armed men broke into their house in Chiranjeev Vihar’s sector-9 at around 1:30 am on Tuesday and left at around 4 am while threatening them of dire consequences if they tried to raise an alarm or alert police. The Chiranjeev Vihar area is close to Harsaon police lines.

The family alleged that their calls to the police were not answered.

“The men left our house at 4am on Tuesday. The police did not take calls and we had to go to the local police post to alert them about the incident. As per our initial assessment, the robbers took away jewellery worth ₹11 lakh besides about ₹2 lakh in cash. They also took away money which my father had withdrawn from a bank on Monday,” said Kanchan Sharma, the house owner.

Police interacting with the people in the area.

Kalanidhi Nathani, senior superintendent of police (SSP), said that the robbers fled with jewellery and cash during the incident. He however declined to comment whether there was a lack of police patrolling in the area.

“We have roped in several teams and are also scanning CCTV footage. The CCTV at the house was not functional. The family informed us that 5-6 robbers had come and fled with jewellery and cash. We are probing the case and also trying to find if there is involvement of any known person or not,” Naithani told reporters.

Sharma recounted how they entered the house and held the members at gunpoint.

“They broke into the house by cutting through the window grille. They were six in number and were carrying weapons and knives. There were a total of 11 members, including children, of our family. After they entered the house, they had children at gunpoint while threatening all of us to keep quiet. They tore the bedsheets and tightly fastened our mouths with it,” said Sharma.

She said that her sister, along with her family, had come to visit her on Monday. The family said that they thrashed several family members, including a girl.

“After they took us at gunpoint and fastened our mouths, they locked all of us in the bathroom. The men seemed to be in the age group of 35-40 years and were well built. They did not speak in local dialect and seemed to be from eastern UP. After they were done looting, they pulled us out again from the bathroom and locked us in one of the rooms. They left soon after,” she added.

Sharma said that she lost her husband and five other family members to the tragedy resulting out of flash floods in Kedarnath in 2013.