Elderly couple robbed by domestic help

LUCKNOW: An elderly couple was held hostage and robbed by a servant and his three accomplices in the posh Lawrence Terrance colony in Hazratganj late on Wednesday night. While the two elderly people locked themselves in the bathroom to escape assault, the accused managed to escape after robbing them of cash and valuables worth ` 6 lakh, said police.

According to reports, retired government doctor Preetam Singh, 80, and his wife Surendra Kaur, 75, have been living in their Lawrence Terrace house for the past two years. They hired Amethi-resident Rohit Singh to do household work just 15 days ago. However, police said they had collected crucial clues about him due to the alertness of the old couple, who had taken the servant’s

THE SERVANT WAS HIRED 15 DAYS BACK. HE AND HIS ACCOMPLICES TOOK

` 6 LAKH IN CASH AND JEWELLERY

photo identity and his mother’s phone number before hiring him.

The retired doctor told HT that on Wednesday night, Rohit had called his three accomplices to the house saying that they were his relatives and would stay in his room for a day. However, around 10.30 pm, when Singh and his wife were going to sleep, the three men allegedly pounced on Rohit and held him hostage. “Then they also held my wife at knife point and threatened us to keep silent. We were really scared that they would kill us,” said Preetam.

Singh said he and his wife later managed to flee and lock themselves inside the bathroom. “The thieves, including Rohit, had led us to the bathroom door at knife point and were asking us for the keys. As soon as we got a chance, we locked ourselves in the bathroom,” he said, adding that he and his wife stayed inside the bathroom for over an hour and only came out after the miscreants left the house. Preetam then alerted his driver, who was sleeping in a room on the terrace and informed the police immediately. He said the thieves took around ` 2 lakh cash and jewellery worth around ` 4 lakh.

On Thursday, his son RP Singh lodged an FIR of robbery with Hazratganj police.

Lauding the old couple’s presence of mind, Hazratganj circle officer (CO) Rajesh Kumar Srivastava said, “We’ve got crucial leads in the case with the help of the couple. They had collected Rohit’s details before hiring him. We will arrest the accused soon.”