Thieves broke into the residence of a GRP employee in the Lichubagan police quarters opposite Howrah jail on Tuesday afternoon and decamped with jewellery and cash worth Rs 2 lakh.

Rajkumar Rajak, the 40-year-old Howrah GRP employee, was on duty and his wife Debola, 36, had gone out to fetch their son Rajdeep, a Class III student, home from Vivekananda Institution on Kasundia Road when the thieves broke in. She returned and saw the lock on the main door broken. The valuables were missing.

Debola said: “I was outside for an hour. The burglars broke the locks on the almirah and the locker inside. Empty jewellery boxes were left strewn on the floor.” She called her husband, who lodged a complaint with Howrah police station.

An investigator said: “Preliminary investigation suggests the burglars knew that the family members would be outside for an hour in the afternoon.”

Rajak, who has been living in the quarters for eight years, said: “Though the area is a high-security zone, there is practically no security around the quarters. Our family members can be murdered any day while we are at work.”