Cash & jewellery worth Rs 17 lakh looted in Supaul

PATNA: Over a dozen criminals barged into the house of a PDS dealer in Supaul district in the wee hours of Monday and decamped with cash and jewellery worth Rs17 lakh. While fleeing with the booty, the dacoits hurled bombs causing injuries to the dealer’s neighbour.
The incident took place around 2.30am when the inmates of the house owned by Dev Narain Choudhary were fast asleep.The dacoits, stated to be 13 in number, entered the house located at Ghurghur Chowk under Sadar police station area after breaking open the rear door. They held the family members captive at gunpoint and herded them into a room. Thereafter, the dacoits opened the almirah and collected Rs5 lakh, 200 grams of gold, 5kg of silver and some other valuables. The criminals threatened the family members with dire consequences if they raised an alarm.
While fleeing, the dacoits hurled bombs near the house in which Choudhary’s neighbour Tribhuwan Sah received injuries in his hand. He was rushed to a private hospital in Supaul for treatment. He was out of danger.
The injured Sah told the police that he came across the dacoits while going to a nearby field to answer the call of nature. “They lobbed bombs in a bid to keep me away from them. I received injuries in my hand,” Sah told this newspaper.
Agitated over the incident, local residents blocked the Ramdutt Patti-Supaul road. The residents alleged that the incidents of house robbery have increased in the area falling under Sadar police station in the district.
On getting information, SP Manoj Kumar visited the site and inquired about the incident. A sniffer dog was pressed into service to trace the dacoits’ route of retreat. A forensic team also visited the spot and collected samples from there. However, no breakthrough has been achieved so far.
The SP said two live bombs were recovered from the spot. “Raids are on to nab the criminals involved in the incident,” he said, adding that on the victim’s statement, an FIR related to loot of cash and jewellery worth Rs17 lakh was lodged with the Sadar police station.