A group of armed and masked robbers stormed the house of a retired colonel in the upscale Sector 23 area in the early hours of Saturday. The intruders threatened the family of his son and fled with cash and jewellery worth lakhs. On receiving information, teams from the Palam Vihar police station, Crime Branch and a forensic unit reached the spot. An FIR was registered and the police are examining CCTV footage from the area to trace the accused.
According to a complaint filed by Vikas Jain, son of retired Colonel CL Jain, the robbers entered the property from the rear around 2.45 am. They first turned the CCTV cameras towards a wall. They then cut the iron window grille with a cutter and entered the first floor of the house. They first entered Vikas’s room and then the room where his wife and daughter were sleeping.
“The robbers were armed with knives, cutters, large screwdrivers and iron pipes. They threatened the family and took away my wife’s earrings, rings, bangles and other jewellery. They also searched the dressing table and wardrobe and took diamond rings, diamond sets, a gold mangalsutra, chains, other valuables and some cash,” Vikas said in his complaint.
He alleged that the robbers fled around 3.15 am after threatening the family. They also took away three mobile phones, which were later found on the rear balcony of the house. All the robbers were speaking Bengali, he said.
“My younger son arrived from America at 2.30 am. My wife, younger son and grandson were in a downstairs room. My elder son Vikas was upstairs with his wife and daughter. The robbers threatened to kill the family if anyone raised an alarm. I was unaware of the incident. After they left, my son came downstairs and informed me, following which I alerted the police,” said the retired Colonel.
“We have registered a robbery case against unidentified persons and formed a special team to investigate the matter. We are scanning CCTV footage from the surrounding area to identify the accused. They will be arrested soon,” said Inspector Devender Maan, SHO of the Palam Vihar police station.
