Abhijit Chatterjee, hit on the forehead by the dacoits who raided his house. Picture by Amit Datta

Mahishbathan, on the fringe of Salt Lake, was rocked by two armed dacoities within an hour late on Thursday. Gold ornaments, watches, cellphones and cash were looted from two households.

Sustained raids by police have yielded no results, though officers claimed to have come across some crucial clues.

?It seems a local resident had passed on information about the families to the gang that committed both dacoities, between 1.30 am and 2.30 am,? said an officer of Bidhannagar (East) police station.

The seven-member gang first turned up at the house of the Manchandas. The dacoits broke open the grille gate and the door, and barged into the bedrooms, asking for the keys to the almirahs. The keys were promptly handed over.

The dacoits then locked the family in a room and picked up whatever valuables they stumbled upon.

?We were sleeping and did not know how to react. They were all armed. We waited in the room till the morning before crying out for help. Local residents rescued us,? said Akash Manchanda, who trades in ball bearings.

The next stop was the Chatterjees? house, a few yards away. Rita Chatterjee, a BSNL employee, was watching television when two dacoits aimed a revolver at her through the window and asked her to open the door.

She immediately ran to the bedroom and alerted husband Abhijit, who called police by dialling 100. The couple placed a few heavy items against the bedroom door so it could not be opened from outside.

?But the dacoits still broke open the door. They knew exactly where to go for the valuables. Before leaving, they hit Rita on her back and me on my forehead with a chopper,? said Abhijit, a central government employee.

By the time police came, the dacoits were gone.