Armed criminals looted cash and valuables worth Rs 10.5 lakh from the house of a retired Tata Steel employee at Purna village underTundi police station area of Dhanbad district on Thursday night.

Senior police officials led by the Dhanbad rural superintendent of police, Amit Renu, reached the site on Friday morning, spoke to the family members and sealed the borders of Tundi for a manhunt to arrest the criminals.

House owner Umesh Mandal told reporters that around 10 to 12 persons entered his house on Thursday midnight, jumping over the main gate and breaking open three other locks.

“The criminals first accosted my son Mithun, who operates a wall paint machine, at gunpoint. We woke up hearing his screams and gradually my wife, married daughter and her 10-year-old son were also rounded up,” he said.

“The armed criminals remained at the house for more than an hour. They collected around Rs 1.5 lakh cash, besides gold and silver jewellery worth around Rs 10.5 lakh,” said Mandal.

He said the cash belonged to his son and that the criminals also took away three mobile phones.

The husband of Puja Mandal, Umesh’s daughter, works in the Navy. He was away on duty, leaving Puja and his son with her parents.

The family members and neighbours called the police and a team led by Sharda Ranjan Singh rushed to the spot.

The Dhanbad rural superintendent of police told The Telegraph Online, “We have identified some of the people involved in the incident and some recoveries have been made. Investigation is on and we will resolve the case soon.”