Bhubaneswar: The city police on Thursday arrested a youth related to the recent case of robbing of gold earrings from an elderly woman at gunpoint in Nayapalli area. The accused claimed to have committed the crime to repay a loan of around Rs 20,000.Identified as Ashok Behera (21), a resident of Behera Basti in Nayapalli area, the accused allegedly targetted 68-year-old Indumati Balabantaray while she was plucking flowers in her garden early on Feb 4 morning. Wearing a hoodie and brandishing a firearm, Behera robbed her of gold earrings and bangles at gunpoint. The brazen offence had raised serious safety concerns in the locality.
“We scanned several CCTV cameras in the locality and traced the accused. The stolen gold earrings and bangles, which were not of gold, have been recovered,” said ACP (Zone-V) Biswaranjan Senapati.Investigations revealed that Behera used a toy gun to intimidate the victim. “We have recovered the toy gun. During interrogation, he admitted he was under financial pressure and needed money to clear his debt. Verification of his background showed no criminal antecedents,” ACP Senapati added.Police said after committing the crime, Behera fled on a two-wheeler parked about 200 metres from the victim’s house. He had lived near Balabantaray’s residence 10 to 15 years ago and was aware of her daily routine. “Knowing she woke up around 5 am to pluck flowers, he planned the robbery during the early hours when the streets were deserted,” Senapati said.
