Oil-soaked underpants-clad burglars escaped with gold and cash

Three burglars, clad in just underpants and their bodies soaked in oil, escaped with 80 sovereigns of gold worth about 19 lakh (£22,000, $35,000) and 2 lakh (£2,300, $3,750) in cash from a house in Ponneri, about 55km from Chennai, India, on Monday night after assaulting the owner. Police said the burglars broke the iron grille and entered the house while Dayalan and his wife Navamani were asleep in the drawing room. Their son Naresh was in the bedroom.

The burglars put all the loot in a sack and were on their way out when one of them stepped on Navamani's hand. She screamed on seeing three oil-soaked men wearing just underpants. Hearing his wife's cries, Dayalan got up and switched on the lights. The burglars who were under the impression that they had pulled off a heist without any disturbance hit Dayalan on the head. He fell down unconscious.



They pushed Navamani aside and fled. By then Naresh woke up and alerted some of their neighbours who rushed to the house. Navamani and Dayalan were taken to a nearby private hospital where they were treated and discharged. Later, Devan, a milkman, and Prakash, a cement dealer, who lived in the neighbourhood, found the grilles of their houses broken. It is suspected that the burglars made attempts at some other houses before striking at Dayalan's residence.

Police personnel visited the crime spot and took fingerprints. Navamani told police that the burglars appeared to be in the 25-30 age group and spoke in Tamil. She said she was jolted out of her sleep when someone stepped on her hand. As she woke up, the three men shoved her aside and attacked her husband, she said. Special police teams have been formed to track the accused. The incident created panic in the area and angry residents have urged police to increase patrolling saying burglars could come back for more.