Udaipur: 82-year-old held hostage, robbed of jewellery, cash worth Rs 2 crore

UDAIPUR: In a major robbery, four unidentified men broke into the house of a 82-year-old money-lender after midnight on Monday, held him hostage and fled with cash and jewellery worth approximately Rs 2 crore from his locker.
The incident happened at the victim's house near the community centre in Kanore town of Vallabh Nagar block in Udaipur.
Police said Sohanlal Kothari, who lived alone, was held hostage by four who got inside his house through the backdoor. They held him hostage and ransacked the house. Kothari is a money-lender who gave loans on ornaments. He kept jewellery in his locker at his home.
In his FIR, the victim said the robbers decamped with 1.4kg gold, 125kg silver jewellery and Rs 16 lakh in cash. Kothari told the cops that four men had broken into his house through the backdoor around 2.30am. They tied his hands, legs and gagged him. He said his nose bled due to suffocation and he fell unconscious. The robbers broke open two rooms and the lockers. They ransacked the house and left after 90 minutes. The victim said that he regained consciousness after the robbers left him thinking he was dead. Kothari then mustered courage and shouted for help. Police has sought footage from all CCTV cameras installed in the area.
After his wife's death five months ago, the senior citizen had been living alone. His retired son lives separately. After the news of the loot spread, people gathered in large numbers outside Kothari’s house. This was the biggest such robbery in the area in recent times.