Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur (SS)
Puttur, Sep 8: A gang of robbers attacked a former grama panchayat member's family in Kudakdi farmhouse of Paduvanooru village and made away with Rs 40,000 cash and 150 grams of gold late in the night on Wednesday.
A gang of seven to eight robbers barged into former GP member Guruprasad Rai Kudkpadi's farmhouse and tied up all the family members before ransacking the house and making away with the loot.
The police visited the farmhouse and are investigating.
A gang of robbers entered the house at around 2 am through the backdoor of the house. The group brandished a knife at Guruprasad Rai Kudkpadi and his mother Kasthuri Rai and threatened them before tying them up. They later robbed gold ornaments kept in the cupboard along with cash and fled from the scene.
Guruprasad was unmarried and was living alone in the house. His mother who lived in Narampaadi of Kasaragod had come to her son's house on Wednesday to participate in a function that was being held in the neighbourhood. Both the mother and son had finished their dinner and had gone off to sleep.
The gang of robbers were conversing in Tulu and Kannada, it is learnt. They threw Guruprasad Rai's mobile into the water and searched the entire house. They also threw a bike key and broke the petrol wire into pieces.
Some of the gang members wore monkey caps with hand gloves while a few others had covered their faces completely. They brandished a knife at the mother and son and kept on threatening the two with a sword dangling over them until they had finished robbing the house.
The gang of robbers who searched various cupboards found it herculean to break open an almirah. It took more than 90 minutes to break open the lock of an almirah and succeeded in their attempt. It was 4 am by the time they had finished robbing the house before they fled from the scene.
The Kudkpadi farmhouse was a deserted place and was surrounded by hillocks. There are no houses nearby. It takes a while to reach the farmhouse. It is said the robbers had sufficient knowledge and information about reaching the place and it is said that persons only with knowledge could be behind the crime.
Guruprasad Rai had employed a worker who was residing in Kasaragod and had left the job three days ago.
Western zone IGP Dr Chandragupta and SP C B Rishyanth visited the spot. Puttur DySP Gana P Kumar and Rural circle inspector Ravi B S were also on the spot conducting an inspection. Fingerprint experts and other forensic science experts along with sniffer dog squads also visited the farmhouse.