The youths went to Krishan Prasad Gupta's house at 4578/100, Daryaganj, around 9 a.m. and rang the door bell. When Gupta's servant, Ashok, opened the door, they said they had came to discuss something urgent with the businessman.

Though Ashok asked them to wait in the living room, the latter started following him. Once inside the bedroom, they took out their pistols and knives and threatened to kill the occupants if they raised an alarm.

Another servant in Gupta household, Ram Babu Singh, was assaulted when he attempted to resist the youths. The youths then tied Gupta, his wife Vimla Devi, and the two servants with ropes and left them in the bedroom.

They forcibly removed all the jewellery that Vimla Devi was wearing and then broke open the almirahs and suitcases in the house. After removing the valuables and the money, they left the house through the rear entrance.

Investigations later revealed that they had taken Rs 6 lakh and all the jewellery that was kept in the almirahs.

The incident was reported to the police after Gupta managed to free himself. Besides the Daryaganj police, a team from the Crime Branch also went to the spot later in the day. The police are, nevertheless, shocked that the incident occurred so early in the morning, and despite the beefed-up police patrolling these days.

``Earlier, robberies were committed in the evening. But now there is no pattern. We are looking at all angles, including the possible connivance of the servants with the robbers,'' said a police official at Daryaganj Police Station.

The fact that the youths did not use any vehicle to reach Gupta's house or make their escape, also indicated that they could have come from a nearby area, he added.