Bhubaneswar: Bike-borne miscreants snatched away the vanity bag containing valuables worth around Rs 75,000 from a woman who was travelling in an auto-rickshaw near Khandagiri Square here Saturday afternoon.
She, along with her husband and son, who is undergoing coaching for competitive exams in the capital, was going to a hotel where they are staying currently. The victim, Fuleshwari Pradhan, and her husband Kshirodh Pradhan, are residents of Keonjhar.
According to sources, the victim, a diabetic, used to come to the City at regular intervals for check-up at a private hospital in Dumduma area under the Khandagiri police station limits. They came for the check-up Friday and checked into Chandan Lodge.
Saturday afternoon, when the couple along with their son was returning, two bike-borne youths snatched away the bag Fuleswari sitting in the auto-rickshaw. She suspects the role of auto driver who allegedly slowed down the vehicle though there was no traffic ahead.
The bag contained one costly mobile phone, three silver coins, over Rs 30,000 in cash and some important documents, said the victim.
A police official said that five cases of snatching, including that of Fuleshwari, were reported at the police station Saturday. All have reported that some bike-borne miscreants looted their valuables.
Khandagiri area has turned into a hotbed of snatcher gangs with incidents occurring regularly in the locality.
In another incident, the miscreants snatched away the gold chain of one Prabhasini Prusti of Press Colony area under Kharavela police station limits. She was returning home after shopping at the market building Saturday afternoon when the bike-borne miscreants kicked her scooter. Prusti fell on the road and was later rushed to Capital Hospital as she sustained head injuries.
Though the loot occurred in the presence of police and traffic officials, the latter remained as mute spectators. Interestingly, the miscreants committed the crime on Gandhi Marg where dozens of CCTVs have been installed.
PNN