Robbers unleash night of terror in village, couple hacked to death

GREATER NOIDA: An elderly couple was bludgeoned to death in their sleep allegedly by a gang of robbers, suspected to be Bawaria gang, in Jamalapur village in Greater Noida on Saturday morning. Two other houses in the couple’s neighbourhood were also broken in, and another couple in one of these houses was also attacked by the gang in an attempt to loot their belongings.
The bodies of Azad Singh alias Kalu (62) and his wife Vedvati (60) were lying in a pool of blood on the verandah of their house at around 5.15 am when a neighbour, who usually accompanies them for a morning walk, reached there to check on them.

According to the neighbour, Vedpal Bhati, whenever he calls up Kalu, he would always get a response and the duo and their wives would together go for a walk. “Today also I called him, but did not get a response. I thought they might have slept late and hence did not try to wake them up. When me and my wife left for the walk, a youth on the way told us that two persons in another house in the neighbourhood were brutally attacked by some robbers late at night,” he said.

Sensing some danger, Vedpal went back to check on Kalu and his wife, who were sleeping on the verandah. Since the couple did not respond to his calls, he removed the sheet from their bodies only to find them lying in a pool of blood.

“The robbers came with an intent to loot. The house has been ransacked,” said Surendra, the couple’s son.

Police found some marks on the outer wall of the house, suggesting that the men had entered the house after jumping over the six-feet wall.

The assailants also attacked another house a few meters away.

Shobha (28) and her husband Sudhir Bhati were asleep when at least three assailants entered their house and locked up Sudhir’s mother Rajbala who was sleeping with her grandsons in the adjacent room. While Sudhir has suffered injuries on his neck, shoulders and hands, Shobha suffered a fracture on her left hand along with injuries on her head.

“Around 1am, I heard some noise and got up to see that a man was repeatedly hitting my husband with an iron rod. As I rose and screamed, he started attacking me too. I saw at least two more men—one near the fridge and another near the gate. The one near the gate asked them –“chalo” (leave) and they left,” she said.

Sudhir said the men were well-built and seemed to be in their late twenties. “They do not seem to be from the village. There might be more men but I saw only three,” he said.

He said the assailants left when they heard the voice of some milkmen near the house.

The members of a third house said they at least two of their doors were unlatched. However, the assailants seem to have fled since their pet dog alerted them. Umesh Devi said she was sleeping when her husband and son got up to check why the dog was barking. “The door at the terrace and the one downstairs leading to the staircase was found unlatched,” she said.

SSP Ajay Pal Sharma said the role of a tribe similar to Bawariya can’t be ruled out, given the brutal attack on the targets.

An FIR has been lodged against unidentified assailants under Section 302 (murder) of IPC.