BHUBANESWAR: An elderly couple had to cut short their visit to their son’s place in Europe after unidentified miscreants decamped with gold ornaments worth lakhs from their flat on the outskirts of the city.
Retired meteorological department scientist Narayan Parida stays with his wife in a flat in Gothapatna within Chandaka police limits. “On July 17, we went to meet our son who stays in Europe and our return journey was scheduled on October 12. At least 500 gm gold ornaments were stolen from our flat in our absence,” Parida’s wife told mediapersons. She said most of their hard earned savings were lost in the heist. Paridas’ neighbours sent them photographs of their flat after the heist following which they had to return.
Sources said the miscreants broke open the door’s lock and entered the flat around a week back. They took out all the jewellery boxes from the almirah and decamped with the valuables. Parida and his wife had no clue on how many jewellery items were stolen. They assessed the exact weight of the gold ornaments only after they returned.
Police said the couple’s domestic help noticed the door’s lock was open and informed their neighbours. Interestingly, the accused did not steal any electronic gadgets like mobile phone, laptop or iPad. After the incident, residents alleged some of the compound walls of the apartment were damaged and several CCTV cameras lying defunct. Several senior citizens staying in the locality expressed concern on their safety and security.
They claimed not only there were lapses on the builder’s part in carrying out maintenance but the visibility of the police in the area was also very low. “A case has been registered and an investigation launched to identify and nab those involved in the crime,” said a police officer.