Armed dacoits beat up,loot family

Police said the family members were fast asleep when dacoits broke into their house around 1.30 am. The dacoits were carrying wooden batons,sticks and metal rods. The family members woke up and shouted for help but to no avail. The complainant’s husband,Dattatraya (41),and father-in-law Baban Khandve (70) tried to resist the dacoits but failed as the intruders assaulted them and also threatened the women.

Dattatraya and Baban received severe injuries on their head and other parts of the body. The dacoits then stole Rs 15,000 in cash and 29 grams of gold ornaments from the house and escaped. The incident lasted around 20 minutes. The victims called the police once the dacoits left their house and a police team rushed to the crime scene for investigation. Police took Dattatraya and Baban to Sassoon Hospital for treatment. They said the condition of both the victims was stable. Police inspector R G Galande of Airport police station,who is heading the investigation,said,“Khandves are local farmers. Their house is located in a remote place. So when the victims shouted for help,no local residents were around to help them. We suspect that the dacoity was well planned.”

“The dacoits,aged between 25 and 30,spoke Hindi. None of them had covered their faces and we have drawn the sketches of some of them based on the victims’ description. Investigation so far has revealed that they escaped from the spot in four-wheelers. We have got some clues and a search has been launched.”