Murari Saraogi (50), who is staying on rent at the first floor of the four-storeyed building, blamed his landlord Sachin Pal for the theft, saying the latter was trying to make him leave.

Saraogi had left home on Saturday around 4.30 pm to celebrate Holi at one of his relative’s house in Bangur. When he returned at 10.30 pm, he found the locks of his flat broken. On entering, he found three almirahs ransacked. After a few minutes, he felt nauseated and rushed to the kitchen to find the LPG pipe disconnected from the burner and the cylinder switched on. Saraogi then called up the Tollygunge police station.

“The landlord hired some goons and tried to kill me. He is constantly putting pressure on me to vacate the flat,” Saraogi told police. Pal, who stays on the top floor of the same building, said: “I am not a fool. I will not disconnect the gas pipeline and set my own building on fire. I stay on the top floor. The allegations made by Murari are false and fabricated.”

The police found two chisels on Saraogi’s bed. They suspect that the burglars had used them to break open the main door and the almirahs.A police officer said, “The modus operandi suggests that the burglars were aware of every detail about the family. Probably someone known to the family is involved. The burglars knew about the cash and jewellery kept in the almirah. Apart from gold ornaments, some diamond jewelleries are also missing.”