KARACHI, June 27: Three armed suspects took away cash, prize bonds and gold worth well over Rs4.5 million from a house of a businessman in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Block-3 on Monday afternoon. Police said that three suspects barged into the house of Naeem Akhtar. They took his family members hostage at gunpoint and colleted Rs0.3 million cash, prize bonds worth Rs3.4 million and one kilogram gold.

Gulshan TPO Aleem Jafri told Dawn that the family suspected the role of house maid in the dacoity who was locked by the suspects before fleeing.

An FIR 329/2005 was registered at the Gulshan-i-Iqbal police station following which the maid was detained for interrogation.

In Block-7 of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, a vet doctor was deprived of Rs200,000 in front of his house by armed suspects.

Police said that Dr Furrukh Haider was retuning to his house in Block-7 after withdrawing cash from a bank at Water Pump. As he reached near his house, the suspects took away cash at gunpoint.

In PECHS area, armed suspects robbed two women of Rs100,000 in cash and jewellery worth Rs250,000 on Monday afternoon.

Eyewitnesses said that two ladies were entering their house in Block-2 near Model School after returning from a money exchange company, when they were intercepted by three suspects. They barged into the house and collected cash and jewellery before fleeing.