Teenager detained for Bhubaneswar jewellery store robbery over online gaming debt

Bhubaneswar: Tamando police on Wednesday detained a 17-year-old boy in connection with the robbery of gold ornaments from a jewellery store in Kalinga Vihar area here on Tuesday, citing his debt burden as the motive.

“The juvenile had a few months ago borrowed Rs 1 lakh from a man for investing on an online gaming platform, but was unable to repay. He planned the robbery to clear his debt,” said DCP Jagmohan Meena.


Around 1 pm, wearing a surgical mask, the boy entered a jewellery shop, where he was the lone customer. He then wanted to see ornaments for his sister’s wedding. The salesman displayed two chains and five rings. After bargaining for a while, the boy suddenly sprayed pepper into the salesman’s eyes and fled with the ornaments. Police said that he had purchased the pepper spray bottle from an online platform hours before the robbery.

After the robbery, he met two men, including the lender, and took them to a gold finance company. Claiming the ornaments were family-owned, he pledged them at a firm near Fire Station Chowk and received Rs 2.2 lakh in cash.

Police have also detained the firm’s manager, Prasant Kumar Mishra, for accepting stolen gold without verifying its source or asking for purchase bills. Police have recovered the stolen jewellery, and handed them over to the store’s owner. The cash received from the gold loan company has not been recovered.

“We are regularly appealing to gold loan companies to share data with police if they come across suspicious customers. They should make proper verification of pledged gold,” DCP Meena said.

Investigators said that the boy, who previously did not have any criminal history, had conducted a recce of several jewellery shops in the city before selecting the small, less-crowded store as his target.

In a separate case, police arrested Badal Nayak, 28, for allegedly snatching a woman’s gold chain near Jaydev Vihar Chowk in Saheed Nagar on Tuesday evening. Locals caught him after his bike skidded during the escape attempt. His associate managed to flee.

Police suspect Nayak and his accomplice may also be involved in another chain-snatching case reported earlier that day, in which a police officer’s mother was targeted in Sailashree Vihar.