Patna, Jan. 6: Police are suspecting the hand of criminals staying in slums near Hardinge Park Road in the robbery at the official residence of a postal department accountant in the small hours yesterday.

Five masked persons broke into the residence of Satyanandan Kumar, who was recently transferred to Dibrugarh, around 3am. The criminals got into the house from the back door and beat up Satyanandan’s wife and octogenarian mother before locking them in the washroom. They fled with ornaments worth Rs 3 lakh.

The police said they were looking into every angle to identify the gang. Deputy superintendent of police (law and order) L.M. Sharma told The Telegraph: “Satyanandan is yet to reach the state capital but that is not a matter of concern for the police. Investigations are on to identify the gang involved in the robbery. The case will be solved very soon.”

The police are also probing the presence of criminals in the slums near the house. There are slums around the railway tracks behind the house. Sources said police have information that criminals recently released from prison are staying there.

An officer at the Kotwali police station said: “Such an incident has not occurred in the area for over a year. The police suspect the hand of criminals, who were recently released from prison, behind the robbery. The police are checking the list of the persons released from prison recently. Their whereabouts are also been looked into.”

Although Satyanandan’s house (quarters number 1/5) is barely 2km away from Sachivalaya police station, the Hardinge Park Road area is under the jurisdiction of Kotwali police station.

The police have also assigned a team of forensic experts at the spot of crime to gather clues, which could help expedite the case.

“The team, although unable to find much evidence, has collected some fingerprints that don’t belong to the family members. Only two women live in the house. These fingerprints could be of the criminals. The police will match the prints with those of persons recently released from jail,” the officer added.

The police are also inquiring why Satyanandan’s official residence is in Patna when he is working in Dibrugarh.

An officer looking into the case said: “This angle will be investigated but right now our main concern is to catch the criminals who broke into the house and fled with the ornaments.”