Chennai: Gang loots retired Port Trust official after tying up family

Chennai: Nearly 100 sovereigns of gold and Rs 60,000 were looted in a daring robbery from a family of retired Port Trust official at Injambakkam during the wee hours of Saturday.

Lakshmi Narayan (61), resident of Shalimar Garden, along with his wife, Vasuki and two daughters – Monisha (36) and Madhunisha (25) — retired after the day, setting all three of their dogs free in the compound.

At around 2.30 am Monisha heard the dogs’ wailing outside the house. A masked gang, toting knives, intercepted her when stepped out to check on the dogs, of which two of them were drugged. The gang pushed the girl inside the house where the rest of the family were shocked to find the masked gang. All of them except Madhunisha, who was holding another dog, were tied up, and the girl was asked to behave, or to face dire consequences.

Subsequently, they looted the valuables and cash. The gang also fished out all mobile phones of the family. Only after a three-hour struggle, the family, who were locked up, could get access to a mobile phone, with which they alerted the cops and their relatives. Vasuki, who teaches art at her house, was earlier teaching in a private school. The elder daughter works as a techie while the younger daughter is a post-graduate. Fingerprints were lifted from the scene. Meanwhile, the cops have collected the CCTV footage from the neighbouring houses and a school in the neighbourhood to identify the gang members.