Jajpur: Two motorbike-borne unidentified criminals kept the salesman of a country liquor shop at Jaraka Bazaar hostage at gunpoint and took away cash of nearly Rs 1.22 from the shop.

The salesman has been identified as Prafulla Chandra Behera.

The FIR filed with the local police by the licensee of the shop, Iswar Chandra Behera, said two unidentified criminals came to the shop on a motorcycle on Wednesday night. They parked the bike in front of the shop and barged into it.

"The criminals barged into the shop around 11.00pm on Wednesday, while the salesman Prafulla was preparing to close it. They also snatched the mobile from the salesman and locked him outside the shop before fleeing the scene," said Dharmasala police station inspector-in-charge Umakanta Nayak. After the robbers fled, Prafulla heard someone's voice from outside the shop and thus shouted for help. Then a passer-by came to the shop and unlocked its door to free him.

"The salesman then informed the shop's proprietor about the incident. Behera rushed to the shop and informed the police. Since there is no CCTV in the shop or near it, the police are working on various other tools to identify the robbers," said a policeman.