PANCHKULA Cook was appointed three days ago

Four members of a family and their driver were allegedly drugged by their newly employed cook who decamped with valuables late on Tuesday night, police said on Wednesday.

Deepak, the domestic help from Nepal, is missing. According to the police, Deepak was hired by the family three days ago.

The family members — Rakesh Kapil, his wife Tripta Kapil and son Abheshek (15) — and their driver, Ram Bahadur, were admitted to the General Hospital in Sector 6 in an unconscious state. Kapil’s daughter Abhilasha (17) was also drugged but she did not lose consciousness. Tripta is the principal of Starlit School in Haripur village, Sector 4, and the family lives on the first floor of the school.

“The family had been looking for a cook for the past few days and it was after the recommendation of Ram Bahadur, also from Nepal, that Deepak was given the job. Bahadur has been working with the family for the last two months. Deepak had reportedly cooked dinner last night. The entire family fell unconscious after eating the food,” said S C Sharma, a relative of the Kapils. He added that the almirah in the master bedroom was found broken and all gold ornaments worn by Tripta and her daughter and their mobile phones were missing.

Abhilasha, who studies in DAV School, Sector 15, Chandigarh, said: “We ate parathas in dinner. Immediately after that, my father asked Deepak to go and sleep in the room on the second floor of the school where Bahadur stayed. After a short while, I felt uneasy. I vomited twice and then went to sleep. My parents and brother were already asleep by then. When I got up in the morning, I realised that they were actually unconscious.”

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