'Room on rent' board makes 3 siblings hatch plan to rob 86-year-old Delhi woman of gold jewellery

The Delhi Police have arrested four persons, including three siblings, for allegedly robbing an 86-year-old woman of her gold jewellery after entering her house in Delhi's Bindapur on the pretext of inquiring about a room available on rent, officials said on Tuesday.

The accused – two women, their brother and his friend – noticed a rental board outside the elderly woman's house and used it as a pretext to gain entry, police said.

A pair of gold bangles, a pair of gold earrings and a gold ring looted from the victim were recovered from their possession, they said.

The accused have been identified as Ratan Mehto (19), his sisters Anjali (24) and Ranju (20), all residents of Nanda Ram Park, and their friend Raju Kumar (27), a resident of Uttam Nagar.

According to police, a PCR call was received on November 14, reporting that two women and two men forcibly entered the complainant's house, where his 86-year-old mother was alone, and robbed her jewellery before fleeing.

The police analysed more than 150 CCTV camera feeds from the neighbourhood, leading to the identification of one of the accused women.

Police traced the suspect to a house in Nanda Ram Park, Uttam Nagar, and arrested all four accused found present there. A search of the premises led to the recovery of the robbed jewellery, the officials said.

During interrogation, the accused revealed that around 10 days before the incident, they spotted the elderly woman wearing gold jewellery while sitting outside her house.

They also noticed the ‘room-on-rent' board, which prompted them to hatch the robbery plan.

A few days before the robbery, the two women visited the house to enquire about the room and found that the elderly woman remained alone during the day, police said.