Cash, valuables worth over Rs 10L looted in Araria

PATNA: Unidentified criminals looted cash and valuables worth over Rs.10 lakh from the house of a wholesale dealer of grocery in Araria in the wee hours of Monday.
The criminals also thrashed the owner of the grocery shop Vijay Kumar Gupta and his son Vikas Kumar with a spade when they resisted the loot. They duo have been admitted to a local hospital for treatment.
Vijay told police that about a dozen criminals barged into the house after breaking open the main gate with a spade at around 1.30 am.They confined all the family members in a room before going for a looting spree.
“The entire operation lasted for about 40-45 minutes. The criminals collected a little over Rs 5 lakh in cash besides gold jewellery and other valuables worth Rs 5 lakh. The cell phones were also taken away by the dacoits,” the wholesale dealer said.
The family later informed Araria RS police outpost SHO Maneesh Kumar, who rushed to the spot and carried out raids on different hideouts of the criminals. A sniffer dog was also pressed into service.
Later Sadar SDPO Pushkar Kumar also visited the spot and inquired about the incident. Pushkar said the miscreants had damaged the CCTV before entering the house. “Efforts are on to ascertain the gang involved in the crime,” the SDPO told this newspaper over phone.