Robbers chop off jeweller’s palms, flee with gold ornaments, cash in Odisha
KENDRAPARA: In a gruesome incident, a gang of unidentified miscreants reportedly attacked a jewellery shop owner, chopped off both his palms with an axe and looted gold ornaments and cash from him at Hurasahi chowk under Kudanagari police limits in Kendrapara district on Sunday night.
The victim is 45-year-old Pradeep Nanda of Thakurapatana village. Police said the incident took place at around 10.15 pm.
Nanda was returning to Thakurapatana in his four-wheeler with gold ornaments and cash after closing his jewellery shop at Mahala haat. A group of around four to six unidentified miscreants on two motorcycles waylaid him near Hurasahi chowk.
They stopped his car, broke the window panes and asked Nanda to hand over the gold jewellery and cash. When the jeweller resisted, the miscreants attacked him with an axe and chopped off both his palms, said IIC of Kudanagari police station Jagannath Pradhan.
The attackers fled with the ornaments and cash leaving Nanda in a pool of blood. Some passersby found the victim with grievous injuries and raised an alarm. On being informed, police reached the spot and rushed the injured jeweller to Kendrapara district headquarters hospital. He was later shifted to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar by his family members, said Pradhan.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Nanda used to carry gold ornaments to his home in his car after closing his shop every night. Police are yet to ascertain the exact value of the ornaments and cash looted by the miscreants, the IIC said.
Police seized a blood-soaked axe from the crime scene. “We have registered a case against unknown miscreants under sections 309 and 109 of BNS. The dog squad and scientific team also visited the crime scene for investigation. A team has been formed to identify and nab all the miscreants involved in the incident,” the police officer added.