JEYPORE: Five students including three women were allegedly attacked and robbed of their mobile phones and cash by a group of miscreants while returning from popular tourist destination and Odisha’s highest peak Deomali in Koraput district on Friday evening.
The incident came to light after the students, two of whom are from Central University of Odisha (CUO), Koraput, filed a complaint in Kotia police station on Saturday evening.
The victims are Srestha Senapati, Chandrika Senapati, Kunal Takiri, Lingaraj Khosla and Ushashree Senapati. While Srestha and Chandrika are CUO students, Kunal and Lingaraj are from a college in Semiliguda. Ushashree is a student of a college in Puri.
According to the victims, the incident took place at around 7 pm on Friday when they were returning from Deomali peak by a car. They alleged that two to three miscreants approached them on the pretext of seeking a lift and suddenly attacked them from behind with stones and sticks.
The attack left all the five students injured following which the assailants allegedly snatched their mobile phones and cash before fleeing the spot. The victims sustained head injuries and two of them required stitches. The miscreants allegedly took away two cell phones and a wallet containing Rs 7,000.
The injured students managed to reach Deomali with considerable difficulty and sought first-aid treatment. However, they allegedly could not find any medical facility at the tourist spot. They subsequently travelled around 30 km to the community health centre at Kunduli, where they received primary treatment in the wee hours of Saturday. The students formally lodged a complaint with Kotia police in the evening.
Sunabeda SDPO Sumitra Jena said based on the complaint, a case has been registered at Kotia police station and investigation is underway to identify and nab the miscreants. “This is the first such incident reported from Deomali area. We are reviewing the situation and will take necessary steps to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the future,” Jena said.