Bhubaneswar, May 5: Goons looted valuables worth more than Rs 5 lakh, including gold ornaments weighing around 150 grams, from the house of a bus owner at Bhagaban Nagar on city outskirts in Tamando police station limits.
The gang had earlier struck at the house of a retired doctor in Kaling Vihar.
The incident took place around 2am when the bus owner Pritam Kumar Jenamani, and his family members were asleep. "Around eight goons carrying sharp-edged weapons broke into the house and asked us to hand over the valuables. When we resisted, they assaulted my mother and took away gold and silver ornaments weighing around 150 grams and 500 grams respectively and Rs 70,000," said Pritam.
The goons wore masks and were talking in Odia, Pritam said. "They locked us inside a room and decamped with six mobile phones. We managed to break the window and come out of the room. Later, we lodged a complaint with the Tamando police," said Pritam.
Before this incident, the same gang is believed to have broken into the house of a retired doctor at Kaling Vihar with the intention of dacoity.
"The doctor was not at home, while her relatives were sleeping in a room. The goons locked the room from outside and ransacked the almirahs and trunks. However, when they did not find any valuables, they took away a bottle of scotch from the house. Then they went to the residence of the bus owner," said a police official.
The cops have used a sniffer dog that led them to the house of the retired doctor. Both the houses are located within a distance of 400 meters from each other.
"We suspect that the particular gang is involved in many such incidents in other areas of the city as well. We are trying to nab the members," said inspector in-charge of Tamando police station, Kishore Chandra Mund.
Money scamInvestors and agents of Vibgyor Group, a money deposit collection firm, today alleged that it had duped them of Rs 14 crore promising high returns.
The zonal office of the company was set up at Surya Nagar in Bhubaneswar in 2009. "The company shut down in July last year. Later, when we approached the owner of the company, Pabitra Sahu, he threatened us," alleged Santosh Kumar Sahu, an investor.