When Dehradun police are literally scratching their head to crack the armed burglary case reported from Balawala under Raipur police station area on September 10, one more daring case of armed burglary was reported from Sahaspur area on Friday night.
Around eight armed criminals confined the house owner Gurupal Saini and his family members flaunting guns and decamped with a Bolero car, cash and ornaments worth lakhs. The house is located on the outskirts where hardly a person goes, it is learnt.
Saini, a farmer by profession, lives along with his family including wife, children and others at Jassuwala, Sahaspur. He had sold his one bigha land recently. Financed by a bank, he had purchased a Bolero car around a fortnight back. On Friday night around 2 am, while he was sleeping in cowshed around eight armed criminals intruded and forced Saini’s family member to open the door. They got in after one of the family members opened the door. The criminals kept the family members confined at gun point.
They first seized mobile phones and later looted the house for around 40 minutes. Finally, they decamped with cash Rs 10, 000, ornaments and the Bolero worth lakhs.
The criminals threatened the family members of dire consequences if they screamed. Sources said criminals might have known that Saini had sold his land recently. This was why the miscreants demanded money to the tune of lakhs, sources added. The house-owner later informed police.
The case proved a shock for police as they have been grappling with the wide-spread hostility from the common people in view of their failure to bring to book the criminals who had burgled a house in Balawala. Dehradun SSP Ajay Rautela, Vikasnagar Circle Officer SK Singh and other police officers rushed and inspected the site. Dog squad and forensic experts also were deployed to collect evidences from the spot.
Meanwhile, taking cognisance of the complaint from Saini, a case under appropriate sections of IPC was registered in the Sahaspur police station and teams have been deployed at various places to nab the criminals.
State Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Ram Singh Meena said that soon after police were informed about the incident the policemen in the district were put on alert. Police began searching the stolen Bolero and criminals.
However, policemen said that they had seen a Bolero speeding towards Uttar Pradesh at an interstate border check post just five minutes before the information came their way, he said. “The family thus burgled informed us too late. Had we been informed a little earlier we might have already arrested the criminals,” Meena added.