NEW DELHI: In a daring robbery, five
unidentified assailants, armed with guns and knives, allegedly robbed a
furniture trader's family of approximately Rs 80 lakh. The cash and jewellery
had been brought to the house for a wedding function.
The incident
took place around 11:30 am on Monday in Raghu Nagar near Janak cinema in Dabri
in south-west Delhi. The police have registered a case of robbery at Dabri
police station and are investigating the case.
Police said five robbers
raided the RZ-B/2, Raghu Nagar, house on Monday. Only two women of the house,
along with the servant Noor Alam, were present in the house at that time.
"Since, they were held at gunpoint, the women had no scope to protest. After the
heist, the looters fled with the booty. Apparently, both the entry and the exit
were friendly as no one even spotted the persons enter or leave the house. The
family claims to have lost over Rs 25 lakh in cash and a jewelleryworth several
lakhs. We are looking into several angles and have narrowed down the suspects.
No one has been detained," said Shalini Singh, DCP, Southwest.
Seema
Sharma (35), an eyewitness to the incident, said: "I was on the second-floor of
the house alongwith my sister-in-law. Around noon, five men walked into our
house, took our servant hostage and locked him inside one of the bedrooms. They
threatened us at gunpoint. They even severed telephone connections and snatched
all mobiles. Announcing that they had been sent by one Malhotra, business
partner of my father-in law for the last 25 years, to kill my husband, they
asked us to surrender the keys of all almirahs and lockers."
"They
then arranged all cash and jewellery at one place in the hallway and stuffed
them into a suitcase, lying in my bedroom. They then tied and gagged us before
locking us in the bathroom, alongwith our servant, and walked away calmly," she
added. According to family members, Pooranchand Sharma (75), his three sons,
daughters-in-law and three grandchildren have been residing in this apartment
for the past 22 years.
Pooranchand is the owner of S D Industries, a
furniture firm, with the head office at Kirti Nagar.
Sharma's eldest
son Shambhu Dayal said he suspected no one. "Malhotra, our partner, is family.
There is no reason to doubt him," he said.