Jajpur: Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Crime Branch Sunday began investigating the day-light robbery of a gold jewellery shop in Jajpur district, in which two persons were shot dead by a gang of robbers, an officer said.
The STF team members visited the spot at Panikoili facing the store where the firing took place Saturday. They were accompanied by a scientific team which thoroughly examined the jewellery shop and the site during the day, a police officer said.
Security has been tightened in and around Panikoili since the incident. Armed police personnel have been deployed at the jewellery shop, the place from where the cash loot attempt was made and the entry and exit points of Panikoili bazaar.
Police suspect that the criminals were from outside the state as they were speaking in Hindi.
“We have seized a motorcycle used in the crime besides a handgun and bullets near the crime spot. We are verifying the registered number of the bike and other details of it to get a lead,” Jajpur Superintendent of Police Yashpratap Shrimal said.
Notably, five gunmen reached the jewellery shop on two bikes posing as customers Saturday afternoon and fired at one of the employees who was riding his motorcycle to go to a bank to deposit the store’s cash.
Hearing the injured man’s scream, locals rushed to the spot. Anticipating trouble, the armed men fired on them, killing one and injuring another. The employee died later Saturday while the other injured person was undergoing treatment in a hospital in Bhubaneswar.
Local people also caught two of the four miscreants and beat them up. They were hospitalised.
PTI
