Bhubaneswar, Oct. 23: Goons assaulted a woman and decamped with gold ornaments weighing around 150 grams and cash worth Rs 14,000 from her rented house near Patrapada last night.

The woman, identified as Zarina Khatun, was later rushed to AIIMS hospital.

The woman was with her two sons when the criminals broke open a window and entered the bedroom of the house.

"All of us were sleeping when one of the goons woke me up. I was terrified to see two unknown men with covered faces. They were speaking in Odia and asked me to hand over the jewellery I was wearing. They also threatened to harm my sons," said Khatun, whose sons are aged 10 and 7. Her husband works in Delhi.

Later, the goons asked the woman to hand over the keys of the almirah.

"When I did not give them the keys, one of them hit me with an iron rod. They also slapped me and threatened to assault my sons. Helpless, I handed over the keys and they decamped with gold ornaments weighing around 150 grams and cash worth Rs 14,000. They also took away three mobile phones and a tablet from the house," said Khatun.

Khatun said the operation lasted for around 30 minutes and the goons escaped through the same window that they had used to enter the house.

Khatun suffered injuries on her neck and back. She was rushed to the AIIMS hospital and was discharged in the evening.

The incident has once again raised questions on safety of citizens, especially women and senior citizens staying alone.

On September 5, four armed men looted gold ornaments weighing around 120 grams from the house of a retired government employee located in a busy market area of Gandamunda in Khandagiri police station limits.

They had gone to the house on the pretext of renting a room.

In yesterday's case, police suspect that the goons were aware of the fact that the woman was staying with her two sons and her husband was away.

"Her husband travels frequently. It is quite obvious that the goons knew this and took advantage of his absence," said a police official.

Deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said they had started an investigation into the case.

"We suspect the involvement of a local gang in the incident. The goons have already been identified and we are trying to nab them," said Bhoi.