Odisha Jewellery Shop Owner Attacked, Drugged In Kidnap Bid

Balasore: A day after he went missing from Soro block in Odisha’s Balasore district, a jewellery shop owner was rescued from Bhubaneswar on Friday night

Notably, Prahallad Behera of Atapur, who owns a jewellery shop at Belda square on Soro-Kupari road, left for Dandaharipur on his motorcycle with 50 gram of gold after receiving a call from one Sumanta Mallick, who wanted to buy some jewellery, on Thursday.

He, however, did not return home till late in the night and his phone was found switched off. Suspecting that he might have been kidnapped, his family members then lodged a complaint with Soro police.

After being rescued, Prahallad revealed five youths attacked him and looted the gold ornaments when he reached Mallick’s house.

They rode with him till Jamujhadi and board a bus for Bhubaneswar, leaving the motorcycles behind. They even threatened him to call his family members and demand ransom.

Prahallad was drugged in the bus but he regained consciousness when they were taking him in an autorickshaw from Vani Vihar to Master Canteen. He, somehow, managed to escape from their clutches and entered Bhubaneswar railway station.

Police, which had launched a search operation, brought him back to Soro police station.