French diplomat’s house ransacked in Shanti Niketan, not an item missing

THE COUPLE WAS IN NEPAL WHEN THEIR HELP INFORMED THEM ABOUT THE INCIDENT

Foot prints in the kitchen; the locks and windowpanes broken; the jewel box opened; cash and valuables as they were — the house was ransacked but not an item was reported missing.

What happened inside a senior diplomat’s house on the night of May 5? The Delhi Police have formed teams and roped in crime branch to identify the men who broke in at a French diplomat’s house in south Delhi’s Shanti Niketan. With no items reported stolen, police are probing why the diplomat’s house was ransacked.

The couple had gone to Nepal for a vacation, when their help alerted them about the break-in. The maid had on the morning of May 6 reached the house and found the kitchen and bedroom doors broken, according to the diplomat’s husband in his police statement.

The diplomat’s husband alleged the drawers were forced open. There was a ‘lot of disturbance’ in the bedroom. “All cupboards, the jewellery box and the drawer with valuables were open. The jewels were left outside. The mattresses had been moved. Jewels, and even notes (euro, dollar) have not been taken,” reads the complaint.

When the couple returned on May 8, they found that their laptop, Ipad and their smart phones were also untouched. They then informed the South Campus police station. Police have registered an FIR and are scanning the finger prints from the house. Though senior police officers were not willing to comment, a source said the case is interesting because there was a similar break-in at an adjacent house but valuables and cash were missing. “It is strange that on the same night, there were two thefts but from the diplomat’s not an item was missing. It seems the thieves had ample time. Police are probing the case from all angles,” said a source.

HT contacted the senior diplomat for a comment but she refused to comment.