LAHORE, May 26: In second incident of its kind in a year, over 20 robbers looted cash, jewellery and other valuables beside a huge consignment of carpets worth millions of rupees from a house-cum-warehouse and injured three people, including the female owner, on Davis Road in Racecourse police precincts in 24-hour siege beginning Saturday night.

The robbers reportedly appeared to be highly educated in their demeanour. They also chose to loot the warehouse on Sunday when almost all offices in the vicinity on the city’s busiest mercantile road are usually closed. They stayed at the spot for over 24 hours, showing that they were extremely confident. However, the looted carpets and other company belongings were reportedly insured.

Abdul Karim, manager of the Best Oriental Rungs Corporation, told Dawn that more than 20 robbers entered the company office during the night between Saturday and Sunday, took watchman Shah Muhammad and driver Akram Hussian at gunpoint, gave them a sound thrashing and later tied them with ropes. Later, some of the robbers entered the upper portion of the company office, where owners Zubair Ahmed and his wife Shamshad Jehan resided, took the lady at gunpoint and injured her with blunt weapons. Shamshad was alone at her house as her husband was away at that time.

Karim said an export consignment of carpets worth $720,000 (equivalent to approximately Rs42.25 million) was ready and he was waiting for Zubair to return from Islamabad and sign the export papers.

He said the outlaws remained on the spot for whole the day on Sunday, loaded rugs and carpets from the ground portion on a truck that took four consignments of the booty to their desired destination in as many trips.

They also took away jewellery and other valuables from the upper portion and Rs300,000 in cash from the company office on the ground floor and gave some intoxicants to Shamshad and her two employees before fleeing.

“The company employees reached the office in routine on Monday morning and found the owner’s wife and two employees unconscious. They later shifted the injured to the Services Hospital,” he said.

The police registered a case.

The Civil Lines SP was not available for comments while cell phones of SPO and SHO Racecourse were found switched-off.

A Lahore police spokesman said that a similar robbery incident took place in a carpet showroom on Davis Road last year.