“Around 11 pm, my wife and I went to our room to sleep and locked it from the inside. As we live alone, we routinely lock our room as well as all other doors at night. Around 3.30 am, my wife Ved went to the bathroom and saw a flicker of light coming from the lobby,” said B M Chug (75), who retired as Head of the Department of Sculpture at the Chandigarh Arts College in Sector 10.

“She woke me up and both of us could hear numerous voices from outside the room. It was then we realised that the thieves had entered our house. We immediately called up my daughter, who lives in Sector 15 and also informed the police,” added Chug.

Then, the senior citizen started banging a stick against the room’s door. This apparently scared the thieves who fled without any loot. A few minutes later, the police arrived. “Only then did we open the door of our room. The place had been thoroughly ransacked but nothing valuable was missing,” added Chug.

A police officer said: “The thieves entered the house from the front door but fled when they realised that the couple was awake. In the process, they left behind their iron rods at the spot.” A case of theft has been registered and investigations are on.