Bhubaneswar: Unidentified miscreants robbed gift items worth Rs 5 lakh from a wedding venue at Badagada in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
They entered the venue dressed as baratis (groom party)and fled with gold and cash received as gifts by the bride. The incident came to light when the bride’s kin found that the bag containing cash and gold items was missing.
As per the CCTV footage, a young boy dressed up as ‘Markandi’, who accompanies the groom during the wedding, was seen keeping a close eye on the gift items and he decamped with it as soon as the woman guarding the bags moved from her seat.
The manager of the mandap told media that the miscreants entered the venue along with the baratis. They were dressed like the baratis and the boy who allegedly stole the gifts even wore a paagdi. The boy fled through the back door along with other miscreants.
Incidents of loot are on the rise in the city. A former police officer said that loot during weddings is mostly seen in urban areas as the guests are often unknown to both the groom and bride sides.