Four masked men, at least two of them posing as security guards, allegedly stormed a businessman’s farmhouse in south Delhi’s Ghitorni on Monday night, held him hostage at gunpoint, and robbed him of ₹30 lakh in cash and a gold chain, police said on Wednesday.
The robbers overpowered and stripped two guards stationed at the property, donned their uniforms, and entered the house posing as legitimate staff, investigators said.
The victim, Karan Chopra, a businessman in his late 30s who operates CNG pumps in Gurugram, was with his sister and a few employees at the time of the incident. Around 10pm, the masked men entered the farmhouse compound on the pretext of delivering documents. Once inside, they threatened the staff with firearms, subdued the guards, and made their way to the main residence.
Two of the robbers, dressed in the stolen uniforms of the guards, confronted Chopra and forced him to hand over ₹5 lakh in cash and a gold chain. The gang then allegedly took Chopra and his driver hostage in the businessman’s car and drove around south Delhi and Gurugram for several hours, demanding more money, a senior police officer aware of the matter said, asking not to be named.
They threatened to kill the driver if police were alerted. Eventually, Chopra’s accountant delivered ₹25 lakh to the robbers at his Gurugram office in Sikandarpur. After collecting the money, the robbers released the driver en route back to Delhi and told Chopra to drive home silently.
“No phone call or written complaint was made regarding the crime. When our beat police personnel got information about it, a team from the Vasant Kunj south police station reached the farmhouse and met the businessman. A case of robbery, house-trespass, and criminal intimidation was registered under sections 309, 331, and 351 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,” said deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Amit Goel.
Goel added that while Chopra was not physically harmed, investigators are probing whether the weapons used were genuine and are also examining the possible role of the driver or any other insiders who may have aided the robbers. “The robbers behaved cordially, but their threats were real. We are close to cracking the case as we have identified some suspects,” the DCP said.