Mathrubhumi journalist, Vinod Chandran, wife assaulted by burglars; valuables looted from house in daylight robbery

A news editor with Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi, Vinod Chandran and his wife Saritha, were brutally assaulted by a group of robbers who barged into their house in Kerala’s Kannur district. [caption id=“attachment_4486391” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] The incident, according to The News Minute’s report, happened at the Thazhe Chovva area of the district during early hours of Thursday. The burglars reportedly entered the house by breaking the front door and when Vinod and his wife came out of their room to inquire about the noise, they were tied up, blindfolded and assaulted by the burglars. It was only after the burglars left the house that Vinod managed to free himself and call for help. A team of Kerala Police then reached their home, following which the couple was rushed to the ICU of the AKG Memorial Hospital in Kannur. The couple has suffered serious injuries on their neck and face, the report said. Talking to Mathrubhumi, Vinod said, “They tied my eyes and mouth and started assaulting me. They did the same to my wife. Luckily, I was able to remove the knot after they left. Otherwise, we would have died there.” According to the police, the gang spent nearly an hour in the house after assaulting the couple. According to The Times of India, the gang looted cash, gold ornaments, laptop, mobile phones and ATM cards and other valuables from the house. The group is expected to be a from a Hindi-speaking state as they were communicating in Hindi and English, reports said. Meanwhile, the District Congress Committee president Satheesan Pacheni told the Times of India that “criminal gangs were having a field day in the state due to the inefficiency of the police.” The case is being investigated by a team led by Kannur deputy superintendent of police PP Sadanandan.