Elderly couple held at gunpoint in Punjabi Bagh home, robbed

NEWDELHI: AN elderly couple was held hostage at gunpoint, assaulted and robbed of cash and jewellery worth around R45 lakh by two men at their home in west Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh on Sunday evening.

The robbers ransacked the house, locked the couple in the kitchen and decamped with the robbed items. They took away the digital video recorder of CCTV cameras installed at the house, police said.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (west) Sameer Sharma said a case of robbery with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt with common intention (under sections 397, 392 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code) was registered at the Punjabi Bagh police station.

The case was registered on the complaint of 65-year-old victim Girdhari Lal, who runs a finance company.

Police said the man in his complaint said he was at home with his wife when around 7.30 pm, the doorbell rang. Lal opened the door and found two men, who told him they had come to pay the instalment of a loan they had taken from his company to buy a truck.

When Lal asked them to come inside, the men pulled out their guns and threatened to kill him if he raised an alarm.

Police said the men assaulted him when he refused to tell where cash and jewellery were kept. When Lal’s wife intervened, the robbers assaulted her, said a police officer, probing the case.

“The robbers ransacked the house and fled with cash, jewellery and other items. The couple raised an alarm after the robbers left. Neighbours rescued them and called the police. CCTV footage of surrounding areas is being checked and employees of Lal’s company are being interrogated,” the officer said.