The loot occurred under the jurisdiction of the Shastri Nagar police station. Picture by Ashok Sinha

A 24-year-old girl on a rickshaw lost a gold chain and cellphone to armed motorcycle-borne criminals on a desolate stretch at Board Colony around 11 on Wednesday morning.

Officers at Shastri Nagar police station said they were trying to identify the criminals, as the street does not come under the closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) surveillance.

The police are practically groping in the dark, as the two goons meticulously chose the sparsely crowded road.

The victim, Kiran Devi, is a resident of flat No. 201 of Raj Ballav Kunj Apartment at CDA Colony. Her father, Sachchidanand Singh is a retired additional district magistrate, said one of the investigating officers.

“Kiran Devi went to the area, as she had some personal work. She was on her way back home on a rickshaw. As she passed Ram Lakhan School in Board Colony, two persons on a motorbike suddenly approached and stopped the rickshaw. The person riding the motorcycle had his face covered with a towel. Before she could understand anything, the pillion rider pointed a pistol on her and asked her to hand over a gold chain she was wearing and her cellphone. They threatened to shoot her dead if their demand was not met. She gave her gold chain and cellphone to them and they collected the items and revved up in full speed,” an officer at the police station said

He added: “The stretch of the road was empty. Kiran Devi somehow contacted her family and told them about the incident after which she came to the local Shastri Nagar police station and lodged an FIR.”

“It seems that the criminals were following the victim for quite sometime and waiting for a chance to attack. They made their move once they saw the road empty. The police are investigating the incident and the physical appearance of one of them has been collected from the victim. The police do not have many options to identify them, as the area has no CCTV. However, the necessary investigations are being made and the police are trying to pick them up them at the earliest,” the police officer added.

The state capital of late has been rattled by many criminal incidents.

The last 10 days or so has seen more than a dozen theft cases reported under different police station areas of Patna but the police are just unable to stop the incidents despite several drives being launched. People expressed shock at the incident.

“This is a very serious incident. First, these men were roaming on Patna roads with a firearm freely. This shows their fearlessness and also exposes the fact that the regular checks on vehicles and persons by cops have come down resulting in the criminals not fearing the law. Also, that the criminals could attack anyone in daylight shows that they don’t fear the police at all,” Sameer Kumar, a student residing at the Boring Road area, told The Telegraph.

Several key areas and arterial roads in the city have been covered under the CCTV surveillance. But several other areas are far from the technological advancement in controlling crime.

The criminals seem to be aware of the situation and targeting people, especially women and senior citizens, in such areas, said another police officer.