Robbery in Sundargarh: Over Rs 1cr in gold and cash stolen from widow's house

Rourkela

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Five masked men allegedly looted gold jewellery and cash worth over Rs 1 crore from a house in Sundargarh district’s Bonai around midnight on Sunday, after tying up the house owner, a widow who runs an electrical parts shop, and her daughter.

The accused reportedly threatened to sexually assault the daughter and circulate a video if the woman did not hand over the almirah keys.The victims, a 50-year-old and her 27-year-old daughter, reside in a locality under Bonai police limits. Around 12.30 am, the armed men carrying a gun, ‘bhujali’, and iron rod entered the house through the roof, where a shop employee was resting. They allegedly assaulted and forced him at gunpoint to call his employer, pretending to be unwell and asking for medicine.When she opened the door, the gang overpowered her. They threatened her to cooperate or face dire consequences involving her daughter. She handed over the keys and showed them where the valuables were kept out of fear. The duo was then tied up and confined to a room and their employee kept in a separate room, while the robbers looted gold ornaments worth over Rs 75 lakh and Rs 25 lakh in cash. Before fleeing around 3.30 am, they also took the CCTV chip and hard disk.

The victims remained hostage for nearly three hours, unnoticed by neighbours. After the robbers left, they managed to free themselves and alerted a neighbour, who informed Bonai police patrol team.On Monday, SDPO (Bonai) RC Biswal and inspector-in-charge Jnanendra Sahoo visited the house with a scientific team and dog squad. “We are on the spot and inquiring into the robbery. Efforts are on to identify those involved,” said Biswal. He said a case under BNS 310 (dacoity) has been registered and probe into allegation of threatening of rape is on.