Stamp papers worth Rs20 lakh looted in Gaya

Gaya: A lone robber fled with non-judicial stamps worth Rs20 lakh from a vendor in a crowded and heavily guarded locality close to the civil court, collectorate and the office of the SSP in Gaya on Tuesday. The area is also near the venue where CM Nitish Kumar is scheduled to review Pitropaksh arrangements on Wednesday. As vendor, Laxman Agrawal, was about to close his shop when a man suddenly appeared and snatched the stamp papers kept for sale. The incident occurred within moments. Agrawal, an authorised vendor of non-judicial stamps, later lodged a complaint with the civil lines police station. Civil lines SHO Shamim Ahmad said a crime had been committed but declined to classify it as loot. "No firearms were used, nor was any force applied. The criminal simply decamped with the bag containing the stamp papers," he said. Ahmad added that the actual value of the stolen stamps was still being assessed.