Bathinda, March 26 -- An elderly couple was allegedly robbed of Rs.1 lakh and forced to sign a cheque for Rs.5 lakh on Tuesday by three unidentified armed men at Bathinda's Model Town Phase 2, officials said.

Police said the accused reached Model Town in an SUV in the guise of pest control executives and demanded Rs.10 lakh from the victims.

While the accused were carrying sharp-edged weapons, the victims were not harmed. Civil lines station-house officer (SHO) Ravinder Singh said the victims, Nirmal Verma and Nirmal Kanta, live alone in Bathinda and their son is in New Delhi.

"The couple was home alone when the robbers entered. As per the victims, they had around Rs.1 lakh at home, which the accused took. They forced them to write a c...