CHENNAI: In what looks like a lift from a Kollywood crime film, four unidentified masked robbers made off with 100 sovereigns of gold and around `60,000 in cash from a retired Chennai Port Trust Officer’s house at Injambakkam in the wee hours of Saturday.
The four robbers locked the family inside a room at knife-oint, used an anesthetic spray to silence the dogs and proceeded to clean out the family wealth.
According to the police, Lakshmi Narayanan (61), a retired officer from the Port Trust was living with his family, wife Vasuki (53) and daughters Monisha (36) and Mounisha (25) at Shalimar Gadens in Injambakkam. Monisha is an IT professional and Mounisha a postgraduate.
Around 2.30 am on Saturday, four persons scaled the wall and broke open the backdoor, while the family was fast asleep.
When the two dogs in the house began barking at the sight of the robbers, they used a spray to silence the pets. Monisha, however, woke up to the noise and came to check on the dogs.
The robbers then pointed a knife at Monisha’s neck, threatening her to be quiet. When other members woke up at the sound of the scuffle, the robbers brandished the knife at them and locked the entire family in a bedroom. They then decamped with 100 sovereigns of jewellery and `60,000 in cash.
It was only after three hours of struggle that the family reached a mobile phone and informed police.