Doctor couple looted of Rs 1.18 cr by four masked men in Ambernath

Ambernath: A septuagenarian doctor couple's house has been looted of nearly Rs 1.18 crore by four masked men who broke into Usha Nursing Home in Ambernath where their house is located.  

The masked men locked the Usha Nursing Home in Ambernath, and then broke into the doctor's house which is on the second floor of the building. They threatened Dr Usha Lapsia, 71, at knifepoint and took their entire safe containing cash and gold worth Rs 1.18 crore, reports Hindustan Times.

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Usha usually kept the door unlocked because Harish used to work late. She closed the Out Patient Clinic at around 10.30 pm and went to sleep at 11 pm on Monday. 

An officer from Shivaji Nagar police station in Ambernath said, "The two nurses on night duty were at the main desk at around midnight on the ground floor. One patient was on the ground floor and two others were on the first floor. Four masked men entered the nursing home and threatened the nurses to go inside the room where the patient was sleeping. Two persons also snatched the nurses' and patients' phones and locked the ground floor door. They then went up and locked the other doors on the first and second floors to ensure that no other patient or hospital staff escaped."

Further, DCP P Mohite said, "Usha heard the sound of someone entering and assumed it was her husband. She went out of her bedroom to check. The accused held her at knife point and took away their safe that had cash and valuables worth ₹1.18Cr. The password of the safe was with Harish. They took the entire safe. However, they did not hurt her."

Harish eventually rushed home, opened the doors of each floor, and informed the police about the incident. The accused is reported to have taken the CCTV cameras and DVRs from the ground floor control room. 

A similar incident had also taken place a month back where Dr Usha's gold chain was snatched near her house and no one has been arrested so far in the case. 

The DCP further told HT, "We have four different teams from Shivaji Nagar police station and four from the Crime Branch looking into the robbery. We believe that the accused is known to the couple as they knew about Usha keeping the door unlocked and also the safe had valuables. Moreover, Usha was also targeted a month ago which deepens our suspicion."

The doctor couple, identified as Usha and Harish Lapsia, one of the oldest doctors in the city, has two different clinics-cum-nursing homes in Ambernath. The theft took place at the 20-bedded hospital in Kansai that is managed by Usha. She has been working as a gynaecologist and obstetrician for 45 years now. She is also a member of various organizations including the Indian Medical Association. Their children are currently living in the US. 

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