Unidentified miscreants struck terror in Hardoi when they barged inside the house of a jeweler in the wee hours of Monday, brutally attacked the family members in which a 16-year-old girl was also killed, and later escaped after sweeping ornaments worth several lakh of rupees and Rs 60,000 in cash.
Senior officers including district police chief of Hardoi, Umesh Kumar Singh, who rushed to the spot suspected that the hands of some criminal tribe popularly known as `Kucthcha Baniyan’ behind the attack. Four teams were formed to trace out the miscreants and lay a trap on them.
Reports said that about half a dozen miscreants armed with sticks and rods entered into the house cum shop of one Gangaram Rathore, in Nijampur locality of lonar in Hardoi in the wee hours of Monday. Gangaram claimed that the miscreants threatened them with their lives and suddenly attacked them with rods in which he along with his wife Raj Kumari, daughter Madhu and Shivani and son Ankit were injured. The robbers later swept all the costly items including the ornaments kept in the shop and cash and later escaped from the spot.
Gangaram claimed that he later called his neighbors and they shifted them to hospital where his daughter Shivank was pronounced dead upon arrival while condition of other family members was also stated to be `critical’. A case has been registered in this regard and further investigations are on.
Meanwhile two more businessmen including a jeweler were also robbed in separate incidents reported from Jaunpur and Agra respectively. In Jaunpur, a jeweler identified as Suraj Prasad, was sitting at his shop in Dudhaura Market in line Bazar area when three motorcycle borne miscreants reached his shop on Sunday afternoon. Suraj said that before he could sense of any foul play, they whipped out country made revolver and hit a butt on his head in which he was injured.
later two of them took him and his staff at gun point and threatening them with their lives, they robbed one kilogram of gold and 10 Kgs of silver besides cash and other valuables. The miscreants later escaped from the spot. A case has been registered in this regard and a massive search operation was carried out in the district but entire efforts went in vein.
In another case of loot reported from Agra, a trader Rajesh Kumar Goel, residing at Motinagar area of Khandauli in Agra, claimed that his wife Madhu Goel was alone in the house on Sunday afternoon when two motorcycle borne miscreants reached his house. The miscreants asked his wife that they had came to see the vacant portion of the house which was on rent, the duo made entry into the house, the trader revealed. He said that later the miscreants whipped out pistols and locked his wife inside a room and swept ornaments worth over Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 20,000 in cash and escaped from the spot. local police which was informed of the incident rushed to the spot and got a case registered in the matter. Efforts were also made to lay a trap on the accused but two hours long exercise went futile.