A group of thieves, who allegedly broke into a home on a busy afternoon in Sahibabad of Ghaziabad, found enough time to eat from the refrigerator and smoke bidis before making their way with jewellery and items worth almost Rs 1.5 lakh.

What added the salt to the wounds of the victims was that one of the thieves chose the drawing room and not the bathroom to perform the act. The victims have also alleged that police are yet to register an FIR despite approaching them repeatedly.

The incident took place between noon and 5 pm on January 7 when the residents of the house in Shalimar Garden, less than three kms from Delhi-UP border, had left for work. When complainant Prema Sudhakaran returned in the evening, she found the lights at her home switched on.

“I found it suspicious and opened the doors from outside to find that thieves had broken in from the balcony at the backside of the house,” said Prema.

Not only did the family find a lot of valuables stolen, they also found that the culprits had finished off the food in the home.

“They took out plates from the kitchen and had sambar and bread that was in the fridge. In fact, they even ate portions of around half a dozen apples and threw them all across the floor,” said Supreeth Sudhakaran, Prema’s 25-year-old son.

“They were also butts of numerous bidis lying in the house, suggesting they were in no hurry,” said Supreeth. But what angered him was that one of them defecated next to the fridge before leaving.

“I am unable to understand why they would do that when there are bathrooms in the house,” he added.

The bathrooms, meanwhile, were found to have been stripped off of pipes and fittings. The thieves did not even spare the taps,” alleged A M Sudhakaran, Supreeth’s father.

Apart from the bathroom fittings, about 20 grams gold, one laptop, music systems, a watch, a digital camera, silver utensils and brass lamps were found stolen. Neighbours said they had seen three youths loitering behind the house during that period, but they did not suspect anything.

Meanwhile, the victims have alleged that police are yet to register even an FIR. They filed a written complaint at the local police post in Shalimar Garden, but they have been told at the Sahibabad police station that an FIR can be filed only when the post sends a copy of the complaint to them, alleged Supreeth.

When contacted, the sub-inspector at the post told Deccan Herald that the FIR can be filed only at the police station. 

The family, meanwhile, continues running from pillars to posts in order to get the FIR filed. The victims also alleged an insensitive response from the sub-inspector, who according to Supreeth, only blamed them for the theft.