Bhubaneswar: Unidentified goons on Tuesday allegedly snatched cash worth Rs 2 lakh at gunpoint from a fabrication unit owner at Balianta on the outskirts of the city.
The robbers also fired two rounds in the air to terrorise the victim, identified as Asit Kumar Jena.
The incident took place in the afternoon when Jena was on his way to Cuttack on his two-wheeler with the bag of cash. "Six masked men in two motorcycles intercepted me and threatened me with dire consequences if I did not hand over the bag with the cash. But when I tried to resist their bid, one of them fired two rounds in the air and took away the bag," Jena said.
Police have started an investigation after Jena lodged a formal complaint. "Though the incident took place on the border of Balianta and Cuttack Sadar police station, we will assist Sadar police in the case," said deputy commissioner of police Anup Kumar Sahoo.
The police suspect the involvement of a gang that was earlier involved in a similar case last November. The gang had opened fire at Jagabandhu Sahu, a salesman with a liquor shop, to threaten him. The robbers also decamped with Rs 5,000 from him.
This January, the police managed to nab two gang members, identified as Harihar Samal, 29, and Sushant Sahoo, 28, after an encounter.
"This might be the handiwork of the same gang. We are also suspect that some acquaintance of the victim might have passed the information about the cash that Jena was carrying," said a police officer on the condition of anonymity.
Easy availability of firearms in the city is a major reason behind frequent firing incidents, especially during loots and robberies. Statistics available with the police also revealed that seizure of firearms has steadily gone up since 2012.
While 18 firearms were recovered from Bhubaneswar in 2012, the number had since increased to 34 in 2016. Similarly, the cops had also seized 318 live rounds during this period.
The statistics also revealed that Bhubaneswar has witnessed 49 cases of firing incidents between 2012 and 2016.
