A 68-year-old woman bedridden for the past few weeks with a broken femur was robbed of her valuables by men who entered the three-storey building allegedly flashing a sharp weapon at the caretaker and then threatening to chop the woman to pieces.

The brazen heist on Wednesday night took place along one of Calcutta’s busiest thoroughfares, Central Avenue.

In a part of north Calcutta, where residents have known each other well for years, they often leave their main doors open to visitors during the day.

The robbery was reported from a three-storey house in a seven-cottah compound near the crossing of Central Avenue and Beadon Street. It took place between 11.30pm and midnight on Wednesday, police said.

Madhumita Mitra, a resident of 326A Central Avenue, her help Gita Das and night-shift caretaker Alok Sur, also known as Samir, were home when the robbery was reported. Cops said ₹15,000 and valuables worth ₹30 lakh were stolen.

According to Mitra’s complaint, the robbers threatened Samir with a machete used to slice coconuts and forced their way in through the main gate.

“She said the robbers entered through the main gate putting the caretaker under fear of death. One of them took the staircase to reach the second floor and kicked her bedroom door. She said this man broke open the lock on the door and entered her room where she was with her help,” said an officer of Burtolla police station.

The police said the man used a katari to threaten the two women and forced Mitra to give the cupboard keys.

The elderly woman has alleged that the man took away ₹15,000 and valuables worth ₹30 lakh.

According to her, the man was using abusive language and told them to be quiet and not to alert the police.

“He threatened to chop the elderly woman into pieces if they chose to alert the police,” an officer said.

Mitra told the police that the man who went to the second floor told her that his men were waiting downstairs giving an impression that more than one person was involved in the crime.

The woman informed the police about the robbery on Thursday morning.

Mitra, who lost her husband in September last year, lives alone. Her daughters live outside Bengal.

The building has two caretakers, one on the day shift and one at night.

Sources said the elderly woman would keep the salaries for her staff at home to avoid going to the ATM to withdraw money now and then.

The help and caretaker have been examined at Burtolla police station. Police sources spoke of “discrepancies” in their statements.

Sources said it was not clear how the caretaker allowed the men to enter through the main gate.

The police have also questioned Mitra’s physiotherapist. He is said to have told the police that the woman was injured a few months ago while seeing off one of her daughters at the airport. Recently, she had a fall inside the house and suffered a fractured femur that left her bedridden.

The last physiotherapy session she underwent was on February 11, he told the police.

Like Mitra, there are hundreds of elderly people in Calcutta who are completely dependent on maids and caretakers because their children live elsewhere.

Many in north Calcutta still feel it is safe to keep their main doors open through the day as the residential neighbourhoods are congested with mostly known faces.

However, there have been several cases in the city where elderly Calcuttans have been cheated, robbed or even killed by people known to them.

In this case, the police had not arrested anyone till Friday evening.

“We are investigating all possible angles. We will make an arrest soon,” said a senior officer.