Elderly woman robbed at gunpoint in Bhubaneswar’s Nayapalli | Bhubaneswar News

Victim Indumati Balabantaray

Bhubaneswar: Panic gripped residents of Gadasahi locality in Nayapalli here after a hoodie-wearing armed miscreant allegedly robbed an elderly woman at gunpoint outside her house on Wednesday morning. Witnessing her panic, the assailant allegedly attempted to console her before fleeing with the stolen ornaments, the woman said.Indumati Balabantaray, 68, was plucking flowers in her garden around 5 am. According to the woman’s complaint, the thief suddenly emerged from the darkness, pointed a firearm at her head, and asked her to remain silent. To prevent her family members from intervening in case she raised an alarm, he latched the entrance door from outside before demanding her valuables. His face was concealed by a hoodie, making identification difficult.“Terrified, I removed my gold earrings and handed them over. The miscreant then demanded my bangles. Though I explained they were not made of gold, he snatched them anyway. He even checked my neck to see if I was wearing a chain,” a trembling Balabantaray said, adding that her family members were asleep then.“Like every morning, I woke up around 4 am and went outside to pluck flowers. The man was hiding in the shadows and suddenly appeared from behind my house,” she said.The victim, who suffers from multiple ailments, said she experienced a mild panic attack during the encounter with the gun-toting thief. In desperation, she touched the miscreant’s feet and begged for mercy. “I was surprised when the armed man tried to ease my distress by patting my shoulder and back before fleeing with the stolen ornaments,” she said.Police have launched an investigation and are scanning CCTV footage from the surrounding area to trace the culprit. “We suspect the miscreant may have been lurking in the locality for some time, waiting for an opportunity to strike. We will identify and arrest him,” an officer of Nayapalli police station said.The incident has sparked fear in the neighbourhood, raising serious concerns about public safety, particularly during the early morning hours when many step out for daily chores.“We never expected that such a brazen theft would occur in our area. Criminals, especially drug addicts, move in our area. Senior citizens and women often become their easy targets,” said Sidharth Das, a senior lawyer in Nayapalli.Locals have urged police authorities to intensify patrolling and ensure better security measures to prevent such crimes.