Bhubaneswar: In a daring daylight robbery, miscreants snatched Rs 8,18,100 from a Panchayat Extension Officer (PEO) and an Additional Development Extension Officer (ADEO) at gunpoint near Bauripada Panchayat Office under Sadar Block in Keonjhar district on Monday morning.
According to reports, the officials were carrying the cash to distribute among beneficiaries in the panchayat. They had withdrawn the amount from a private bank in Keonjhar and were heading towards Bauripada on a motorcycle when the incident occurred.
As per the complaint by the PEO and ADEO, a red Pulsar motorcycle carrying three men had been following them near Mukuna Bazar, a short distance from Sadar Police Station. The miscreants suddenly overtook the officials and blocked their path. They demanded the cash bag. When the officials resisted, one of the robbers pulled out a pistol and fired a round in the air to intimidate them. The robbers then snatched the two cash bags from the officials and fled the scene.
The miscreants were reportedly speaking in Hindi and Bengali during the incident. Following the robbery, the PEO informed the Sadar BDO over phone. The officials later lodged a written complaint at Sadar Police Station.
