Domestic help held for aiding robbery in Gulmohar Park

Narrating the incident,police said around 7.05 pm the owner of the house,Sumeet Singhal,had gone out for an official meeting. He is a vice-president with Tata Indicom. His wife Ritu,their 10-year-old son and domestic help,Chandan,were at home.

“Around 8.30 pm,three men came to our second floor house,rang the bell and our servant opened the door without looking through the peep hole. They were armed and held my wife and son hostage,” Singhal said.

He said the men asked his wife and son to open the almirahs. “They told my wife that if she raises an alarm,they will shoot my son,” he said.

Singhal said: “They kept asking my wife about Rs 10 lakh (in cash) kept in the house. When Ritu told them that she did not have the money,they threatened to kidnap our son. They told my wife to arrange for the money and keep it next to Gate Number 9 of our colony.”

A little later,they tied the hands and legs of Ritu,her son and the domestic help,and fled with the booty,police said.

“My son managed to free himself and called me. He narrated the incident to me and I called the PCR. When I reached home I found that the house was ransacked and the robbers had fled with cash,jewellery worth Rs 8 lakh,mobile phones and electronic items,” Singhal said.

After police reached the spot,they questioned Chandan,whom the family had hired two months ago through a reference and had not got his police verification done.

He confessed to his involvement in the crime,police said. “He told us that he used a separate SIM card to communicate with his associates and had passed information about Ritu being alone at home,” DCP (South) Chhaya Sharma said.

He led police to the hideout of his associates and they were arrested. The loot was also recovered,police said.

Rattled by the robbery,residents of the area alleged that security has been lax and the crime rate has gone up ever since the Gulmohar Park police post was merged with Haus Khas police station. “We need the police post. The colony has several senior citizens who could become targets of robbers,” one of the residents said.