Dona Paula robbery: Police clueless after 48 hours, suspect inter-state gang

Panaji: An inter-state gang is suspected to have taken advantage of blind spots at Dona Paula to evade police detection after carrying out a robbery at a Dempo family residence. The CCTV cameras did not capture the entry and exit of the masked robbers from the vicinity.

Due to the gang’s modus operandi, even after 48 hours of the robbery in Dona Paula, Panaji police are yet to make any breakthrough in the case. Director general of police (DGP) Alok Kumar, DIG Varsha Sharma and SP (crime) Rahul Gupta visited the spot on Monday.
Panaji police have started examining all vehicles that passed by the house to zero in on the accused. They are questioning the people to get leads to nab the accused. Police said that even the victims are not sure about the items that are missing from the house.
Police questioned the caretaker-cum-security, a Nepali national, to get leads to solve the case. The security guard said that he saw around six to seven persons wearing masks enter the house, assault him, and tie him up.
“Four to five unidentified persons entered the residence of the victim at Nagali Hills, Dona Paula, and committed robbery of ornaments and cash. Multiple teams of Goa police have been formed to investigate the case and trace the accused at the earliest,” Gupta said.
Police said that, looking at the modus operandi of the accused, it appeared that it could be an inter-state gang.
TOI reported how an elderly couple from the Dempo family was robbed on Sunday when three men armed with daggers broke into their residence at Dona Paula. The accused tied 77-year-old Jaiprakash Dempo and his 71-year-old wife, Padmini, to their bed while carrying out the burglary between 12am and 4am.
The accused entered the bungalow after assaulting the security guard. Upon entering the house, they first tied Padmini to the bed and then Jaiprakash. Police said that Jaiprakash recalled opening his eyes to see three persons standing in front of him.
Police said that only the senior citizens were in the bungalow at the time. After the incident, the robbers escaped with valuable items. The incident came to light in the morning when the domestic help entered the house to perform daily chores. She immediately untied the elderly couple, and the incident was reported to police.