Sundargrah: A group of armed miscreants struck a private transport company in the Koida area of Odisha's Sundargarh district late on Wednesday night, looting more than Rs 3.5 lakh.

According to reports, eight masked men entered the office of Maa Tarini Transport, located near the main junction of Koida. Four of them carried guns while the others were armed with knives and sharp weapons. The gang allegedly threatened the employees, took the cash and damaged the office equipment. They also removed the CCTV wiring and took away the hard disk before fleeing.

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The employees immediately informed the Koida police. A police patrol vehicle attempted to stop a fast-approaching vehicle suspected to be carrying the robbers. However, the fleeing vehicle allegedly ran over the patrol vehicle driver, who was later declared dead. Locals have accused police of trying to treat the incident as an accident, which has triggered strong reactions in the area.

Repeated robberies in the area

As Koida is a busy mining zone, transport offices work late into the night and often keep cash to pay advance amounts to truck drivers. Locals say this makes them frequent targets of criminal groups.

Several major robberies have taken place in Koida and the Bonai subdivision in recent weeks. Armed robbery was also reported recently from Rengalbeda in Koida.