Patna: Maulauddin Ahwari, a 65-year-old retired soldier, is yet to overcome the trauma he had to undergo during half-an-hour raid by a gang of armed criminals, who escaped with cash and valuables worth over Rs 5 lakh late on Wednesday night.

Ahwari, a resident of Maksudpur village in Saran district, is undergoing treatment at referral hospital in Taraiya after being assaulted by the robbers, who attacked him with a revolver butt on his head. The robbers also thrashed women and minor girls when they resisted the loot.

The robbers entered Ahwari's house posing as police personnel. "It was around 11pm. I was sleeping in a room, while my son, Meraz, was taking rest in another. Suddenly, I heard a commotion on the verandah. Soon, someone from outside asked me to open the door. He introduced himself as a police officer," Ahwari recalled.

He added: "As soon as I opened the door, a group of around 20 people entered the house and asked my son to hand over the money which he had received from a smuggler dealing in narcotics. I was taken aback as none of the family members had ever been associated with any narcotics deal."

Initially, the robbers, posing as policemen, tried to demoralise the family members and then went on a looting spree. They searched all the almirahs and steel boxes and collected Rs 30,000 cash, 10,000 riyals (Saudi Arabia currency), jewellery worth over Rs 2 lakh and other valuables.

The ex-army jawan's son, Meraz, said it took the robbers more than half an hour to collect cash and jewellery from the house. "They confined my wife and children to a room and my father and mother in another before threatening to kill the children if we raised an alarm," he told The Telegraph over the phone.

Ali said the family members were at the mercy of the criminals, who were equipped with firearms and other weapons. The women of the household such as Rawaiya Khatoon, Manisha Khatoon and Samreen Khatoon were taken hostage by the criminals and confined to a room.

On getting information, Marhaura sub-divisional police officer Ashok Kumar and the station house officer of Taraiya police station Ajay Kumar Singh reached the spot and inquired about the incident. "Patrolling has been intensified and raids are on to nab the criminals and recover the looted articles," the SDPO said.

He admitted that the dacoits adopted a novel modus operandi to carry out the operation. "We are cautious and have also alerted the local residents on the issue," Ashok added.