In a shocking and brutal crime, unidentified robbers chopped off both palms of a 45-year-old jeweller using an axe before fleeing with gold ornaments and cash in Kendrapara district of Odisha. The incident occurred on Sunday night around 10:15 pm near Hurasahi chowk under Kudanagari police limits, when the victim, Pradeep Nanda of Thakurapatana village, was returning home from his shop at Mahala haat.

Nanda was travelling in his four-wheeler carrying gold jewellery and cash after closing his business for the day. A gang of four to six miscreants on two motorcycles waylaid his vehicle, smashed the window panes, and demanded he surrender the valuables. When the jeweller resisted, the attackers viciously struck him with an axe, severing both his palms and leaving him severely injured in a pool of blood.

Passersby discovered the gravely wounded man and alerted authorities. Police from Kudanagari station arrived promptly, rushed Nanda to Kendrapara district headquarters hospital for initial treatment, and he was subsequently transferred by his family to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar for advanced medical care. The attackers escaped with the looted gold ornaments and cash, the exact value of which remains under assessment.

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Investigators recovered a blood-soaked axe from the crime scene, which has been seized as key evidence. A case has been registered against the unknown miscreants under sections 309 and 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The dog squad and a scientific team visited the spot to collect forensic clues, while a special team has been constituted to trace and apprehend the perpetrators.

Preliminary inquiries indicate that Nanda routinely transported gold ornaments home in his car every night after shop closure, a practice that may have made him a vulnerable target. Police are examining possible prior surveillance or insider information that could have aided the robbers in planning the attack. The gruesome nature of the crime has sent shockwaves through the local community.

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