Theft in Mo Bus in Bhubaneswar: Man carrying Rs 60,000 for son’s treatment falls prey to pickpockets

Bhubaneswar: A fresh incident of pickpocketing in Mo Bus in Odisha capital has come to fore. Recently, a passenger reportedly fell victim to thieves while traveling in a Mo Bus. Brindaban Sahu from Hinjilicut in Ganjam was carrying Rs 60,000 for his son’s treatment at AIIMS here when he was targeted by pickpockets.

As per reports, his 14-year-old son, Bibhuprasad, is admitted to the neurology department at AIIMS. To arrange the necessary funds for his son’s treatment, Brindaban had gone to his village and managed to have Rs 60,000. Upon returning to Bhubaneswar, he visited a relative’s house in Nayapalli before heading to AIIMS by Mo Bus. He boarded the bus on Route Number 19, keeping the money in his pocket. As the bus approached Khandagiri, it became crowded. It was only when he got off at the AIIMS bus stop that he realized the money was missing.

In distress, Brindaban rushed to the Khandagiri police station and reported the theft. Police were investigating the case by examining the CCTV footage from the Mo Bus.

Brindaban recalled that around 4-5 persons had unnecessarily crowded around him when he was getting off near AIIMS. Preoccupied with his son’s condition, he didn’t pay much attention to them at the time, but now suspects they were the pickpockets.

Notably, the Twin City Commissionerate Police had arrested a five-member pickpocket gang operating in Mo Buses. The gang, based in Cuttack, frequently traveled to Bhubaneswar to target bus passengers. Despite previous arrests, incidents of pickpocketing in Mo Buses seems to be on the rise.