India: 4 pose as electricians, loot cash, gold ornaments

Four armed men posing as electricians barged into a property dealer's house in west Delhi's Uttam Nagar area on Wednesday and escaped with cash and gold ornaments worth thousands after holding his family hostage, police said.

The incident took place around 1.30 pm, with the four men arriving on two scooters. They entered the dealer Vinod's house in his absence.

All of them were carrying weapons and had their faces covered with masks to conceal their identity. While one of them was wearing a helmet, others were wearing a cap, police said.

Police said the armed men suspected to be in the 20-30 age group entered the house posing as electricians and overpowered Sachin, the son of Vinod's brother-in-law.

They tied him with plastic tape and robbed cash worth around 0.8 million rupees and gold ornaments.

The incident captured on camera showed a woman opening the door being threatened by men carrying weapons who entered the house with their faces covered.

Sachin can be seen sitting on the floor and having meals while a girl was sitting on the sofa.

The accused got removed her mother's chain at gunpoint.

Meanwhile, another accused wearing a helmet was seen tying Sachin, who was held hostage in the drawing-room while others went to other rooms looking for the valuables.

According to police, Vinod's mother, Savitri Devi, wife Seema, two children and brother-in-law's son Sachin were at the house at the time of the incident.

Sachin had returned from Patoudi two hours ago, and Vinod's wife Seema shared the code of locker with the accused as she was afraid they might injure the family members. Cash worth 0.8 million rupees and gold ornaments, including two chains, three rings, three mangalsutra and three gold earrings, have been robbed, a senior police officer said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Santosh Kumar Meena said, "A case has been registered and we are trying to identify the accused involved in the incident."

Multiple teams have been formed to arrest the suspects, he said, adding the investigation is underway.

• India