Eight armed robbers posing as police officers allegedly looted cash, gold, silver and other valuables worth around Rs80 million from a house in Karachi’s Gadap City in the early hours of Monday, holding a one-month-old baby at gunpoint during the ordeal, police and the affected family said.
The robbers escaped with 175 tolas of gold, 300 tolas of silver, Rs2.5 million in cash, laptops, wristwatches, children’s belongings and other valuables after remaining inside the house for nearly three hours, according to the complainant. A police contingent later reached the scene, while the crime scene unit launched an investigation. No arrests have been reported.
According to the house owner, the eight suspects arrived on four motorcycles at around 2:30am and identified themselves as police officials to gain entry into the house in Kirpalani Villas.
“They asked us to show our identity cards, saying they wanted to verify that we were not Afghan nationals,” the complainant told the police. Once inside, the men produced firearms, took the family hostage and demanded that all valuables be handed over.
The family alleged that the robbers placed a gun to the head of a one-month-old infant, threatening to kill the baby if they did not cooperate. The suspects then searched six rooms, collecting jewellery, cash and other valuables before preparing to flee.
Before entering the house, the gang allegedly overpowered the watchman, tied him up with ropes and forced their way into the property. They also broke open doors that were locked while searching the premises.
According to the family, the robbers did not take any mobile phones and wiped surfaces they had touched with a cloth in an apparent attempt to remove fingerprints. Before leaving, they asked the watchman whether any other families lived on the property. After finding a locked room, they attempted to force the door open and partially damaged it before being told no one else was inside.
Police are investigating the incident and have yet to announce any arrests.
