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Chennai: Five of family robbed at Red Hills home

CHENNAI: A 10-member armed gang barged into the house of a truck driver in Red Hills on Wednesday afternoon, tied up the residents and robbed them of 15 sovereigns of gold jewellery worth Rs 6 lakh and Rs 10,000, police said.


The incident happened around 3.30pm at Balaji Nagar in Padianallur, Red Hells.

A police officer said truck driver Venkatesan, 39, his wife Rathi, their children Ruban and Rubini and Kamatchi, a relative, were watching television when the doorbell rang.

As soon as Rathi opened the door, 10 men rushed in. Brandishing knives, and asking all the occupants not to raise their voices, they herded Rathi and the others into a sofa and the few chairs available. The gang members tied the five occupants with saris and dupattas, removed the jewellery from the women and fled after taking Rs 10,000. They however did not gag the residents or attack them, police said.

After the robbers left, Venkatesan called the police control room and a team rushed to the spot and conducted inquiries. A case was registered and a hunt launched for the suspects.

The officer said Venkatesan’s house was in a relatively secluded spot and was not surrounded by too many residences. Police are investigating whether the suspects were known to the victims and are also questioning the residents to know if the complaint was genuine.

Some of the family’s neighbours told police that they did not notice anyone near the house and that a lot of visitors usually came to the house to meet Venkatesan. “The house had a huge gate. None of the family’s neighbours would be able to hear or see what is going on inside once it is closed. Due to the pandemic, many choose to remain indoors. This situation could have come in handy for the robbers,” said the officer.

The team investigating the case has seized the CCTV camera footage from the locality, he added. “We are trying to find out if there was any motive behind the crime.” Police suspect the men may have struck after studying the family for a long time.

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