Kochi, An armed gang of five men allegedly barged into a house in Palarivattom here, held seven interstate migrant workers, including three women, hostage and stripped them before robbing valuables worth over ₹ 6.05 lakh, police said on Friday.
The incident occurred between 12.30 am and 1.15 am on Thursday at a house near Samskara Junction where seven workers, including four men and three women from Assam and West Bengal, were staying together, police said.
The gang allegedly assaulted the victims and threatened to kill them. A case was regietered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to dacoity, armed trespass and assault. Preliminary investigation has indicated that the gang comprised four local men and a Hindi-speaking person. A search is underway to trace and arrest the suspects, police added. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
One of the male workers was allegedly forced to disclose his online banking credentials, following which the assailants made two unauthorised digital transactions totalling ₹ 12,000, police said. The assailants allegedly stole a gold chain valued at ₹ 1.2 lakh and a pair of gold ear studs worth ₹ 60,000. They also allegedly took ₹ 1.2 lakh in cash, 10 mobile phones valued at ₹ 3.05 lakh, purses, ATM cards and personal identification documents, police said.
The five men, armed with weapons, broke into the house, bolted the doors from inside and held the residents at knifepoint, according to the FIR registered at Palarivattom police station. During the search for valuables, the gang allegedly stripped the migrant workers, including women, police said. At least one of the suspects was known to the victims, police said. Police have recovered CCTV camera footage in which the accused persons could be seen near the house of migrant workers, officials said.
