UMERKOTE: Armed miscreants looted Rs 28.60 lakh from a cattle trader of Andhra Pradesh in broad daylight at a weekly market in Nabarangpur’s Dabugaon block on Thursday.
The victim is Naidu Rangali (33) of Katu Balsa village in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. Another cattle trader of Nabarangpur, identified as Mehboob Sharif, sustained injuries after being attacked by the miscreants.
Sources said Naidu came to the Dabugaon weekly market in a pickup van to buy cattle from local traders in the afternoon. He put Rs 28.60 lakh cash in three separate bags and kept it inside his vehicle. He locked his van and went to the market to purchase the cattle.
At around 1:30 pm, 10 masked miscreants armed with guns, swords and other weapons arrived in an auto-rickshaw and bikes and went straight to Naidu’s vehicle. They broke the window shields of the van and took the three bags full of cash. The miscreants also punctured the four tyres of the vehicle.
Sharif, who was present at the spot, tried to stop the miscreants but was attacked with a sword. He suffered cut injuries on his left leg. Following the attack, others present at the market were gripped with terror while the miscreants fled from the spot with the cash. Eyewitnesses said most of the miscreants were aged between 20 and 25 years.
Later in the day, Naidu lodged a complaint in Dabugaon police station in connection with the incident. Dabugaon IIC Sunil Kumar Pradhan said that based on the cattle trader’s FIR, police registered a case and launched an investigation. Efforts are underway to identify the miscreants and arrest them, he added.