Panic gripped the Algapur area under Dharmanagar police station of North Tripura district after an armed robbery at a house in Ward No. 1 of Algapur Gram Panchayat late Monday night, in which miscreants had sprayed chemicals to make unconscious the house inmates.
Sources said that the victim, identified as Payel Roy, a homemaker, was allegedly assaulted on the head and threatened with weapons before the miscreants fled with gold jewellery and cash from the house.
According to reports, Payel’s husband, Bikramjit Roy, is a tom-tom (E-rickshaw) driver and was in Dharmanagar for work on Monday night. At around 11 pm, two miscreants with masks reportedly signaled at the door. Believing that her husband had returned home, Payel opened the door. At that moment, unidentified persons allegedly struck her on the head, causing her to fall to the ground.
Then, miscreants had sprayed chemicals on the faces of her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, who became unconscious after chemical sprays.
Miscreants had broken the almirah of the house and looted two gold chains and a cash amount of Rs. 7000.
Sources said that when Payel husband Bikramjit returned back to his home, found his brother and sister-in-law were sleeping in an adjoining room at the time. At around 11:45 pm, he noticed that both the outdoor and indoor lights were switched off. Upon entering the house, he found his wife lying on the floor with her face tied with a scarf and his mother and sister lying on the floor in unconscious mode.
He immediately raised an alarm, following which neighbours, along with his brother and sister-in-law, rushed to the spot .
Payel was subsequently rescued and taken to Dharmanagar District Hospital for treatment. After receiving medical attention, she was brought back home on Tuesday.
Payel said that she could not identify the attackers as the house was dark at the time of the incident. She alleged that the miscreants first struck her on the head, then restrained her and attempted to tie her face and neck with a scarf. They allegedly threatened her with weapons before taking away gold jewellery and cash kept in the house.
On receiving information, police from Dharmanagar police station reached the spot during the night and launched an investigation into the incident.
The incident has caused considerable fear among local residents. Police are making efforts to identify and apprehend the accused and recover the looted valuables.
Later, on Tuesday morning the victim's family lodged an FIR at Dharmanagar police under various non-bailable sections of BNS. Till the last report, none of the accused dacoits were arrested, but police claimed that they have launched a massive manhunt to trace the accused persons.