Bhubaneswar, April 15: The newly constructed Rajmahal flyover, located in the heart of the city, has become a safe haven for hoodlums.

Although the flyover is at a short distance from Capital police station, goons have been regularly attacking commuters, snatching gold and other valuables from them.

The latest incident was that of goons attacking a trader and robbing him of his cell phone, cash and gold chain. This was the second such incident in the past week.

Riyaj Khan, a trader in Unit-II market, was returning to his home in Sundarpada with his wife and children around 11.30 last night, when five goons on two motorcycles stopped his bike and attacked him with sharp weapons on the flyover. They snatched Rs 3,000 and a gold chain from his wife. They thrashed Khan when he tried to resist their attempts. Police had to rush Khan to hospital.

At the time Khan was being attacked, Tapas Das, a resident of Satya Nagar, was not far away. The goons tried to attack him too. Thankfully, he managed to escape. “I saw the goons attacking the trader and snatching his wife’s gold chain. I stopped to check what was happening, when these criminals began abusing me. As they rushed towards me, I drove away from the spot,” said Das.

On the night of April 10, goons had snatched a gold chain from the wife of a police havildar, while the couple were returning home on a motorcycle. On March 16, too, hoodlums had stolen cash worth more than Rs 1 lakh from a person after attacking him on the flyover.

Officials of Capital police station chased down the goons last night and arrested three of them from near Forest Park. They were sent to jail after a court rejected their bail pleas.

However, assistant commissioner of police Nihar Das rubbished the snatching charge. He said the goons were quarrelling with the trader and his family members. “They attacked the trader, who suffered injuries to his head, and cops managed to arrest them. We have booked the goons under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including attempt to murder,” said Das.

People who use Rajmahal flyover at night complained that it had become a safe haven for criminals. As a result, few people use this newly constructed flyover. The cops said usual patrolling was on in the area.

“It is possible that goons prefer to commit crimes there as few commuters use the flyover. We will increase patrolling, if people have been complaining, and not allow people to gather there at night,” said a police officer.