SENSATION prevailed in Sonegaon area after desperadoes attacked a senior citizen with a sharp-edged weapon and looted cash, gold ornaments, silver utensils and ornaments collectively worth over Rs 32 lakh from his house in the wee hours of Tuesday. The incident has once again raised several eyebrows about safety and security of senior citizens in the Second Capital. A resident of Row House No 3, Plot No 33, Indraprastha Layout, Sonegaon, Suresh Sadashiv Potdukhe (82) was sleeping in the bedroom. His wife had gone to her son-in-law Dr Prashant Rahate’s house. His two other married daughters were in Delhi and Raipur and son was already settled in the United States of America.

Around 4 am, three-four robbers broke the grill lock of the rear door. They then opened the central lock of the wooden door and gained entry into the house. The intruders then tied the hands and legs of Potdukhe with a piece of cloth and asked him to hand over the keys of the steel vault. A frightened Potdukhe told them that the keys of the steel vault was kept in his bank locker. One of the robbers stabbed him with a knife while two others stuck an adhesive plaster over his mouth. The robbers then ransacked the house and found the keys of the steel vault in an almirah. They opened the vault, collected Rs 25 lakh cash, gold ornaments weighing 150 gram, silver ornaments and utensils collectively worth Rs seven lakh and decamped with the booty. Around 5.30 am, the injured octogenarian somehow managed to free himself and informed the neighbours about the robbery. Neighbours immediately alerted the police about the incident. Staff from Sonegaon Police Station, led by Senior Inspector B S Pardesi rushed to the spot. A team of Crime Branch officers also rushed to the spot.

Injured Potdukhe, who owns agricultural land and marriage halls in Chandrapur district, was admitted to Seven Star Hospital. Joint Commissioner of Police Aswati Dorje, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection) DCP Mummaka Sudarshan, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Sonegaon Division) Ashok Bagul visited the victim’s house to supervise the investigation. Senior police officials summoned fingerprint experts to trace the culprits. After recording the statement of Potdukhe, Sonegaon Police registered a case under Sections 394, 506(b) and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. A police officer told ‘The Hitavada’ that it appears to be a well-planned armed robbery. Four separate teams were fanned out to identify and nab the robbers, he added. He informed that one of the suspects was identified on the basis of the footage of the CCTV cameras. The officer expressed confidence that the culprits would be put behind bars shortly.