About half a dozen armed robbers looted cash and jewellery worth over Rs. five lakh from the house of a home ministry employee in Loni town of Ghaziabad district Monday morning, police said. Four members of the family were injured when they tried to resist the robbers.

According to police, about half a dozen robbers armed with pistols, knives and iron rods broke open the grill of the bedroom window of the house in B-69 Lalbagh colony of the town.

The house owner, Dilip Kumar, a development officer in Life Insurance Corporation, and his wife Asha Prasad, an accounts Officer in the home ministry in Delhi, were sleeping when the robbers barged in. The couple were hit on the heads with iron rods and tied up by the gang, who collected the keys of all the cupboards in the house.

In the meantime, the couple's children - son Ravi, 15, and daughter Rakshha, 11, woke up and also tried to resist the robbers but were assaulted and sustained grievous injuries. The criminals remained in the house for about an hour and took all the valuables. They fled with the booty, bolting the house from outside.

The neighbours noticed something amiss and opened the house to find all the four lying unconscious in a pool of blood. The police were informed and the injured family members were rushed to St. Stephen's Hospital in Delhi where doctors said their condition was stable.

'We have taken up fingerprints from the spot and pressed the dog squad into service but no lead was discovered. We have registered a criminal case and are trying to nab the criminals,' said Circle Officer (Border) Happy Guptan.