Police are on the lookout for two miscreants, who looted cash worth `6 lakh from a beer parlour staff at Dhangarapada on the outskirts of Keonjhar town on Monday afternoon.
Talking to mediapersons, Diptikanta Patnaik, an eyewitness, said Prasant Kumar Mohapatra, owner of a Honda showroom in the town, has a beer parlour at Dhangarapada.
“Today, Mohapatra came to Dhangarapada to collect proceeds of sales at his beer parlour. After collecting the money, he had given it to his staff to deposit it in bank. While the staff was on his way to the bank by his motorbike, two miscreants came by a black Pulsar bike, intercepted him at Hanuman Chhak and looted the cash bag from him after beating him up. Soon after the loot, the duo fled the area,” Patnaik said.
Patnaik said criminal activities had grown manifold in Keonjhar town as the financial condition of the people have become miserable due to closure of several mines in the district. Such incidents would occur more frequently in future as people would be forced to indulge in criminal activities for their survival.
“Such incidents have already created havoc in the Joda and Barbil mining areas of the district. Now, they have spread to Keonjhar town, which was one of the most peaceful towns in the State,” he pointed out.