House burgled,set on fire; police suspect hand of boy thief

The husband,Ashish Tapo,reportedly told the police that he along with his wife,Abha,and children had left the house at 8.30 pm.

The police said they received a call about the incident at 11 pm on Saturday.

“When they came back,they found smoke coming out of the house and the locks broken. They called the fire officials and the blaze was doused. When the policemen entered the house,they found the almirah ransacked,” a senior police officer said.

“Jewellery worth of lakhs is suspected to be missing.”

The police said three fire tenders were sent to the spot and it took half an hour to clear the smoke and enter the house.

According to the police,Abha Tapo works as a reader at the Tis Hazari courts,North Delhi.

The police said the burglars had set the furniture on fire and suspect it is the same gang that has been involved in several robberies in South Delhi. This is,however,the first time the gang has targeted a house in Northwest Delhi.

A case of burglary has been lodged at the Ashok Vihar police station.

“We have sought assistance from the South Delhi police to know if the modus operandi used in this case is same as in their cases,” the investigating officers said.

The 17-year-old leader of the ‘burgle and burn’ gang had fled from the juvenile detention centre recently — his seventh escape in the past few months.