Masked miscreants decamp with Rs 12 lakh, gold ornaments

OST Bureau

Bhubaneswar, Aug 30:

Three masked miscreants struck at the residence of a businessman in Padmavati Vihar in Damana square under Chandrasekharpur police limits and decamped with cash worth Rs 12 lakh and 100 grams of gold ornaments in the wee hours on Friday.

The miscreants armed with a carpenter driller and a dagger entered the rented house of Jiban Ballav Das, who runs an electrical equipment business in the city, at plot no 172 in Padmavati Vihar at about 2.30 am after breaking the window grill from backside of the house.

Das had gone to Bangalore on some business related work when the incident happened.  Suchitra Sahu, wife of Jiban, and her two children and father in law were at home.

After failing to get the keys, miscreants assaulted Suchitra and snatched away her gold ornaments and mobile phone by threatening to kill her two sons.

Suchitra’s six-year-old son Aditya Jeevan, who witnessed the crime that continued for twenty minutes, informed police through land phone, while his mother was crying in pain and pleading for help. She has sustained minor injuries.

“They took away my mobile and asked for the keys of the almirah. When I refused to give them the keys, they pushed me on the ground and started kicking me. They also threatened to kill my son. They also snatched away the gold ornaments I was wearing,” said Suchitra.

Later, the miscreants broke the almirah with the help of a driller and decamped with the cash and ornaments. The miscreants have left the dagger and driller used in the crime. Though the area is a residential area, the miscreants ensured that no one arrives to rescue them by threatening her not to shout or switch on the lights.

Aditya informed that the miscreants were talking in Odia. He informed the police by dialling 100, added Aditya.

On being alerted, police rushed to the spot but failed to catch them. However, neighbours have blamed the police for not acting promptly enough. There was no patrolling in the area, they alleged.

Police said investigation is on. “It is difficult to track the miscreants as many unknown people are moving in the area and are tracking activities of the residents,” a police officer said.