The Delhi Police on Monday said that it will honour the neighbours who came to the assistance of an elderly couple who had raised an alarm after their grandson and his accomplice allegedly entered their house to rob them on Saturday in Rohini.
The family of the couple, however, told The Hindu that they did not want to be associated with any event related to the incident as “one of their own” had committed the crime.
Frustrated with mediapersons camping in front of their house, the elderly couple’s younger daughter Vidhi Rana told The Hindu that her father is a heart patient and wants to be left alone. “People are coming in every hour and we are receiving so many calls. They are both old and can’t deal with this emotionally or physically. As it is, the crime has been committed by one of our own, which has left them shocked”.
On being told of the plans to felicitate the neighbours who helped her grandparents, Ms. Rana said: “They can do what they want. We don’t want to talk about it further.”
Gesturing towards her visibly exhausted mother, who sat on a sofa at the entrance of their house, Ms. Rana said that reporters were talking to their neighbours: “All of them helped us but it’s humiliating that everyone on the street is talking about us,” she said.
Robbery attempt
On Saturday afternoon, 76-year-old Ram Lal Muglani answered the door and confronted a man who told him that he was from the gas agency and needed to check their connection. “I asked him for an ID, to which he replied that he wasn’t carrying one but would do so the next time... I allowed him in and took him to the kitchen,” Mr. Muglani said.
Once in the kitchen, Mr. Muglani heard some muffled voices coming from the drawing room and rushed to check on his wife. He saw a man wearing a helmet holding his wife, Devi Shakuntala, hostage. Meanwhile, the other man emerged from the kitchen and caught hold of Mr. Muglani.
“I shouted for help a couple of times and thankfully a lot of my neighbours came in no time. They caught both of them and when the helmet was removed, we were shocked to see my grandson,” Mr. Muglani said.
The accused were identified as 20-year-old Rajat, a student of Bachelors of Law from Indraprastha University and son of the couple’s elder daughter Geeta. Rajat’s accomplice was his school friend Rishabh, said the police.
The elderly couple were taken for a medical check-up where it was revealed that Ms. Shakuntala had lost one of her teeth during the scuffle with her grandson.
Rajat was carrying a hammer in his bag and had placed a pistol on his right leg which was later found to be a toy. “We have recovered the toy pistol and have booked the duo on charges of attempt to robbery,” said a senior police officer.
During interrogation, Rajat told the police that his grandfather had recently sold the house in which he was living in to shift to Rohini Sector 11. “He knew they had ₹5-10 lakh in their possession so he hatched the plan to rob them with his friend because he wanted to travel,” said the officer.
