UP: Ex-lekhpal, family held at gunpoint in home; jewellery, cash worth over Rs 50 lakh robbed

Gorakhpur (UP), Jan 6 (PTI) Armed robbers barged into a retired revenue official's home in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur, held his family hostage at gunpoint and fled with jewellery and cash worth over Rs 50 lakh within about 25 minutes, police said on Tuesday.

According to the police, four masked men arrived at the house on two motorcycles around 7.30 pm Monday and knocked on the door of 70-year-old Balendra Singh's house near Rajhi Maurya Chauraha under the AIIMS police station limits.

As soon as Singh opened the door, one of the assailants allegedly pressed a pistol to his temple and forced him inside, while the others followed brandishing firearms.

When Singh tried to raise an alarm, he was struck on the head with the butt of a pistol, leaving him injured, the police said.

The robbers then herded the family members -- Singh's wife Usha, daughter-in-law Kalpana and sister-in-law Purnima -- and forced them to remove their gold ornaments before locking them in a room, they added.

The assailants also allegedly threatened Singh's two grandsons by pointing pistols at their heads and demanded the keys to cupboards, the police said, adding that the women handed over the keys fearing for the children's safety.

Singh's visually impaired younger brother, Tejbahadur Singh, who was resting in the verandah, was not harmed, they said.

An FIR has been registered against unknown persons, and police teams are scanning CCTV footage from the area to identify the suspects, who are believed to be in their early 20s.

Superintendent of Police (City) Abhinav Tyagi said raids were underway and expressed confidence that the case would be cracked soon. PTI COR KIS NB NB