The flat burgled on Sunday. (Gopal Senapati)

A gang of more than 10 men broke into a flat in Belur early on Sunday and held a family at gunpoint to loot cash and jewellery worth Rs 2.5 lakh.

According to Sandip Goswami, 28, 10 to 15 masked men armed with pistols, daggers, swords and an axe entered their second floor flat at Jajodia Garden Quarter around 3am.

“We have collected fingerprints from the house and will match them with a list of suspects,” said Sukesh Kumar Jain, the additional superintendent of Howrah police (town).

Goswami, who works in a private firm, said the gang broke open the main door. “Me and my wife Sunita woke up to the sound of our door being smashed. My wife screamed and one of them held a gun to her temple, asking her to keep quiet,” recalled Goswami.

He said the robbers looted expensive showpieces and ornaments from a small temple in the flat and asked him for the almirah keys.

“When I said the keys were with my mother who had gone to Varanasi, they hit me with the revolver butt. They broke open the almirah with an axe and dagger,” Goswami said.

An officer said a neighbour spotted the gang entering Goswami’s flat and called the police.

“I was watching television when I saw some masked and armed men entering Sandip’s home. I dialled Sandip’s number but his phone was switched off. Then I called up Bali police station, which is just 2km away. But four constables arrived after 45 minutes, around 3.45am,” said Atanu Dey, 27, who lives in a building opposite Sandip’s house.