Jeypore: A third-year Commerce student narrowly escaped an attempted kidnapping in broad daylight in Odisha’s Jeypore town on Thursday afternoon.
The victim has been identified as Moukit Acharya, a student at Vikram Deb Autonomous College in Jeypore.
According to the victim, the accused approached him while he was riding his motorcycle near the university campus around 4.30 pm and and asked for a lift to Parabeda Chhak, claiming urgency. Moukit had met the person about a couple of days ago when the latter evinced interest to buy a mobile phone from his shop.
However, the accused allegedly insisted on going further and directed him toward the more isolated Gadapadar Canal Chhak area. This suspicious behaviour alerted Moukit, who then asked him to get off the bike as he too had to attend to some work. However, the accused refused to get down and grabbed him by the neck as he attempted to escape. In the ensuing struggle, Moukit lost control of the motorcycle, which veered off the road and crashed into a drain near Kalyan Mandap.
“I tried to call my family but he snatched the phone from me and punched me on the face,” he said.
Despite his injuries, Moukit chased the attacker on foot, but the miscreant escaped with assistance from an accomplice waiting nearby on a scooter. “He snatched a gold chain and my bluetooth. Another silver chain broke in the scuffle,” he said.
Local residents, drawn by the commotion, had already gathered at the spot and helped the student. Moukit informed his family and Town Police soon arrived at the location. He was subsequently admitted to a private hospital.
Police said that the victim managed to capture a photograph of the scooter, which will help to identify and apprehend the accused. A case has been registered for attempted kidnapping and robbery.
