Ghaziabad: Six masked robbers broke into a scrap trader’s house in Kalchina village around 2 am on Tuesday after throwing burning chilli through a window, which filled the house with smoke. When one of the family members opened the door to let the smoke out, the robbers allegedly barged in, overpowered the family and held them hostage as they rummaged through the house looking for jewellery and cash.Saddam, the homeowner, told police the gang broke the lock of his shop, set up at the front portion of his house, and broke the outdoor lights before entering, armed with pistols and knives. He claimed that the family was asleep when the men threw burning chilli into the house. His wife, Afrooza, checked the house but found no fire. When she opened the gate to let the smoke out, the robbers allegedly entered and stabbed her with a knife, injuring her hand.“On hearing the screams, I woke up and saw the robbers and locked myself in the bedroom. I opened the door as the men threatened to harm my wife and children. They assaulted me and tied me up with my wife’s scarf,” Saddam said.The complainant claimed that the accused seemed to have been tipped off about 10kg of silver and Rs 5 lakh cash in the house. “When they asked my wife about the jewellery and money, she told them we did not have the money. They kept asking her about the jewellery and cash in the house. When she didn’t reply, they hit her with the butt of the pistol and put knives to my seven-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter. One of them took the keys of the almirah from my pocket and ransacked the house for almost one and a half hours,” Saddam said.He said a neighbour grew suspicious and gathered residents armed with sticks who began approaching the house. Two of the robbers standing guard outside alerted those inside, following which the group allegedly fled with a pair of anklets, gold earrings, a gold kundal, a silver toe ring and other items, along with cash worth Rs 1 lakh.DCP (rural) Surendra Nath Tiwari said the accused had wrapped red chilli peppers in a cloth, set it alight and thrown it into the house through a window. Police recovered the burnt, chilli-filled cloth from inside the home. “Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered against unknown persons under BNS Section 309(4) (robbery). Five teams have been formed to nab the accused. We are also checking the nearby CCTV cameras to identify the men,” he said.
