BHUBANESWAR: A journalist Satya Sundar Bhanja was attacked with an iron rod and robbed of his mobile phone while returning home from a morning walk on Friday, October 1, 2021.
Two criminals waylaid 51-year-old Satya under Nayapalli police limits at around 5 am and asked him to hand over his mobile phone to them. When he refused, one of them started assaulting him. When Satya retaliated, another criminal hit his head with an iron rod. Having sustained critical injuries, he gave his mobile phone to the criminals who then fled the spot. The incident took place just 300 metre away from his home at Satabadi Nagar.
Bleeding, Satya managed to reach his house and informed his brother Dukhishyam about the incident. The victim was rushed to Capital Hospital where he received nine stitches on his head. A case has been registered under section 394 of IPC and probe launched to identify and nab the culprits, said Nayapalli police.
Snatchers have been on the prowl in the Capital city and are targeting morning and evening walkers. In July, three bike-borne miscreants had robbed retired IAS officer Bhaskar Chandra Patnaik when he was walking near the posh Forest Park area here. In 2017, 193 incidents of robbery were reported and 194 in 2018. The number rose to 266 in 2019 and 330 till November, 2020.