Two helps spike food; gold, cash robbed from bizman’s home

Chandigarh, April 20

Five miscreants, including two recently hired domestic helps, reportedly robbed gold jewellery and Rs 2.35 lakh in cash from a businessman’s house in Sector 33 here last night.

Sources claimed that the cash robbed was more than what had been reported to the police.

Mother locked in washroom

• The house is owned by Rakesh Singla, brother of liquor baron Arvind Singla.
• Two recently hired domestic helps mixed some sedatives in food.
• Singla, his driver and a maid fell unconscious after having food. However, his mother Usha Singla didn’t have the dinner.
• Soon, three persons entered the house and joined the two domestic helps.
• They tied Usha’s hands and locked her in a washroom on the ground floor.
• The perpetrators stole valuables before fleeing.
• Usha managed to escape from the washroom window, took help of neighbour’s guard to call police.

The house is owned by Rakesh Singla, brother of liquor baron Arvind Singla.

Sources said two domestic helps — a cook named Raju and a maid Nitu — were hired by Singla recently. Last night, they mixed some sedatives in the food served to occupants of the house, rendering them unconscious. However, Singla’s mother Usha Singla didn’t have the food.

Singla, his driver and a maid fell unconscious after having food. Soon, three persons entered the house and joined the two domestic helps.

The perpetrators tied Usha’s hands and locked her in a washroom on the ground floor.

Usha managed to escape from the window of the washroom and rushed to a security guard present at a neighbouring house and narrated the incident to him. The security guard said Usha came to him around 3.30 am and told him to call the police. However, the call made to the police didn’t connect following which she rang up her other son Arvind.

The security guard, along with Usha, went to Singla’s house and waited for Arvind and cops to arrive. Despite her efforts, the accused fled with jewellery and cash.

Police sources said while fleeing, the accused also took the DVR along.

Senior police officers, including area DSP Dalbir Singh, Sector 34 police station SHO Inspector Baldev Singh and teams of the District Crime Cell and the Crime Branch, reached the spot to investigate the matter.

The CCTV footage from neighbourhood captured five persons, including a woman, leaving the house. A case has been registered at the Sector 34 police station and an investigation initiated into it.

Hired sans police verification

The police said the house owner had hired the domestic helps without getting their police verification done.

Shots were fired at the house in 2020

In May 2020, miscreants had opened indiscriminate fire at Rakesh Singla’s house. At least 17 bullets were fired. The shooters had come looking for his brother Arvind, who lives nearby in Sector 33. Later, members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang were held in the case.