JACOBABAD, July 23: Robbers looted gold ornaments from a large number of Hindu women attending a religious ceremony in a house on Quaid-i-Azam Road, the busiest area of the city, on Wednesday.

Six armed men entered the house of Sham Lal, retired superintending engineer of irrigation department, where about 250 women were attending Sat Sang, which is held there on daily basis. Two of their accomplices stayed outside the house.

The robbers held the women hostage on gunpoint, snatched gold ornaments from them and easily escaped.

As news of the robbery spread in the city, shops in main bazaar and other city areas were closed in protest.

Hundreds of members of Hindu community, led by local Hindu Panchayat president Lal Chand Seetlani, reached the site of the robbery. Lal Chand told journalists that 400-tola gold ornaments had been looted in the incident.

Two suspected robbers were arrested later.