Miscreant loots house, ties up girl in Beleghata

Kolkata: In a daring daylight loot, a miscreant barged into a house at Beleghata, tied the hands and gagged a 10-year-old girl and decamped with cash and jewellery worth a few lakhs. The incident occurred at Chaulpatty Road when the girl was alone in the house.

Police sources said that the 10-year-old Sushma Das was engrossed in playing games when the miscreant entered the house through the door that was kept ajar and threatened to throttle her. Then he tied the hands and mouth of the girl and also put a pillow on her face as per the complaint lodged by the girl's family.

The almirah inside the room had the key attached to it.

The miscreant opened it and took jewellery of around 1.2 lakh and cash worth Rs 40,000. He then emptied the girl's school bag, put the looted items inside it and fled.

The girl's mother, Guria Das was cooking in the kitchen at the top floor of the house and did not have the slightest inkling of the incident.

It was only when the girl climbed up with her hands and mouth tied when she understood something had happened. She untied the girl and came to know of the entire incident.

Guria lives with her family in the front portion of the house adjacent to the main road while her two uncles' family lived in the backward portion.

The kitchens of all the three families are located on the third floor.

The sleuths in course of investigation have learnt that the family had collected the cash for the treatment of the girl's father Mahesh Das who is suffering from heart ailment.

Das who is associated with wooden business was out for work.

"We are of the suspicion that the miscreant might be known to the family. He knew that the girl would be alone in the room and hence had chosen the time in the afternoon for the loot. He was also probably aware that the family had withdrawn the cash from bank recently for treatment of the girl's father," a senior police official of Beleghata police station said.

Deputy commissioner of police (Eastern Suburban Division) Debasmita Das and the anti-robbery section of the detective department of Kolkata Police visited the spot. Sniffer dogs of the detective department were also pressed into service.

There was no CCTV on Chaulpatty Road in and around the spot where the incident took place. "We are preparing portrait parle of the miscreant as per descriptions provided by the child," a police officer said. "We are in living in fear as we have not encountered such incident ever in this place," Rekha Das, a local resident said.