Chennai: A home alone elderly woman was tied up, gagged and physically hurt with cigarette stubs in her residence by a three-member gang who fled away with gold and cash from her house in Tondiarpet on Monday evening.
Sixty-five-year-old M. Fathima, a resident of Nethaji Nagar here, was found with burn wounds on her forehead and right hand by a neighbour around 8. 30 pm who checked on the elderly woman after hearing murmurs from the house, police said.
The woman was moved to the Government Stanley Hospital for treatment.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the trio had entered her house between 4 pm and 5 pm on Monday and threatened the sexagenarian. They had tied her to a chair and gagged her. “One of the men had then started physically abusing the elderly woman by stubbing the lit cigarette on her right hand and on her forehead,” said a police officer.
The trio fled with gold jewellery she was wearing worth 10 sovereigns and cash worth Rs 5,000 from the house. They had locked the two-room house from outside before leaving. Neighbours had to break open the front door to gain entry after they heard sounds from inside the house, police said.
R.K. Nagar police have registered a case and have initiated investigations. Police suspect the assailants to be known to the victim. “The woman lives alone in the house. Her husband, Mustafa works at a garment store in Tiruchy. The couple do not have children,” a police officer said.
