Six armed robbers barged into the house of a senior official of Central Coalfield Limited (CCL) and looted cash and jewellery worth Rs 3 lakh at gunpoint at 1 am on Wednesday.

The incident occurred at the Central Colony residence of Avinash Kumar, a former project officer in CCL, Dhori mines and presently posted at the headquarters.

His wife Sanju Devi and son Nikhil Kumar were present at the house at the time of the robbery.

Devi said the miscreants took the night guard Madan Lal hostage and seated him behind the bushes near the house.

Later, they broke the door and entered, tying Nikhil’s hands and isolating him in another room.

They broke the almirah and took all the jewellery and cash, important papers, clothes and mobile phones.

Bermo SDPO, Anjani Anjan and officer-in-charge Nutan Modi said preliminary investigations indicate that five dacoits had entered the house while one remained with the guard.

After the robbery, the dacoits, all between 30 t0 45 years old, locked the family inside a room and fled.

A police team arrested four members of a gang of vehicle lifters in Harla, and recovered six stolen motorbikes The Telegraph picture

Vehicle lifters nabbed

A police team arrested four members of a gang of vehicle lifters in Harla, and recovered six stolen motorbikes.

The gang would commit organised crime, targeting motorbikes in urban areas and selling them to illegal coal traders in coal belt regions.

They used the vehicles in coal smuggling by changing the registration and Chassis numbers.

DSP, City, Gyan Ranjan said a police team headed by officer-in-charge Jai Govind Gupta, on tip-off, arrested the gang members.

“There has been an increase in bike theft incidents in urban areas. The arresting of these criminals will curb the thefts,” he said.