Rourkela: An armed gang of 10 persons looted a family at gun-point at Jagda on Wednesday afternoon.

The goons, barged into the two-storey house of retired government employee Nrusingha Tripathy with their faces covered by masks.

Nrusingha and his wife were away at Sareikala to attend a marriage ceremony. However, other members of his family were present in the house. His elder son, Sumanta Tripathy, and his family lived on the ground floor and his younger brother Sudipta Tripathy, who has taken retirement from Indian Navy, lived on the first floor.

The three goons walked up to the first floor and entered Sudipta's living room. They overpowered him and looted gold ornaments from him and his wife. They also forced him to open the wardrobe and looted cash and other valuables from there. "When I tried to protest, they put a gun on my head. They were speaking in Hindi. They took away gold ornaments and cash fro our house," said Sudipta.

"At least 10 persons were involved in the crime," said Sumanta.Sub-divisional police officer P.K. Mishra visited the spot after the incident. "This is the handiwork of a new gang coming from outside," he said. And after the opening of the Jhirpani bridge at Jagda, criminals from Jharkhand have allegedly got an easy access to this part of the state.