Jajpur, May 28: Six armed criminals today robbed a man of Rs 2 lakh after attacking him on National Highway 5 near Barachana in the district.

Police said the incident had taken place around 10am today when Prasanta Kumar Lenka, 40, who is an employee of a gas filling station at Barachana, was waiting for a bus on the national highway to go to Cuttack to deposit the cash.

Lenka, had been admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital.

The goons, armed with revolvers and knives, forced Lenka to hand over the bag containing the cash. When the victim refused, they snatched the bag and beat him.

The police, who rushed to the spot, shifted Lenka to the local government hospital. Later, he was admitted to SCB after his condition deteriorated, the police said.

“Six armed men came to me on two red Pulsar motorcycles when I was waiting for a bus to go to Cuttack to deposit the cash in a bank. They forced me to hand over the bag at gunpoint. When I refused, they snatched the bag and beat me before fleeing,” said Lenka.

“On being informed, I rushed to the spot with a police team and started investigation. By then, the robbers, however, had fled away with the booty. We have sealed all the exit points and started combing. We are on the look out for the criminals and will arrest them soon,” said inspector in charge of Barachana police station Prasanta Kumar Majhi.

No arrest has been made till the time of filing this report.

The district has been witnessing a spate of robberies on the national highway. Six criminals robbed a businessman of Rs 70,000 and took his motorcycle away on the highway near Kuakhia on Sunday. Last week, a gang was nabbed for stealing motorcyclists along the highway.