Balasore, Feb. 20: Goons severely beat up a jewellery trader before robbing him of valuable ornaments and cash in the district’s Soro area.

The looted items included about 40gm of gold and 5kg of silver ornaments and cash of around Rs 15,000, said a police officer. The injured trader, Ramesh Sathua Mohapatra, 42, had to be shifted to Cuttack for further treatment after preliminary treatment at the Soro Community Healthcare Centre.

Mohapatra, a native of Bhuban in Dhenkanal district, has been running his jewellery shop at Soro for the last eight years.

Police said the incident took place near Baghua at Soro around 8.30pm when the trader was returning home on a motorcycle with some ornaments in his bag.

Three goons, aged between 25 and 30 years, chased Mohapatra and attacked him with a dagger after hurling a bomb at him, said an eyewitness.

The goons fled immediately after snatching his bag.

Nearby villagers rushed to Mohapatra’s rescue on hearing the sound of the explosion. They, however, could not catch the goons.

Though the police has launched a manhunt to nab the culprits, no breakthrough has been made yet.

“It appears that local goons who knew Mohapatra were involved in the crime. A similar incident carried out by a gang was also reported earlier. We have launched a manhunt to nab the goons,” said sub-divisional police officer Kaliash Chandra Parida.