Locals block NH-16 to protest against series of loot in

Angry over a series of loot incidents in the capital within a short span of 24 hours, a large number of locals Wednesday staged a demonstration and blocked National Highway 16 at Rasulgarh Square here.

The protesters demanded immediate arrest those involved in the incidents of crime, including an attack on a hotelier in the area late on Tuesday night, police said.

The demonstrators blocked the NH-16 at Rasulgarh Square. They burnt tyres and raised slogans against the police and local administration.

Vehicular movement on the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar route was affected as a result, police said.

Senior police officials, including the Commissioner of Police (CP) of Bhubaneswar, Satyajit Mohanty, rushed to the site and tried to pacify the protesters.

Adequate police personnel were also deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incident, a police officer said.

The road blockade was withdrawn after the CP held talks with the protesters and assured them that steps were being taken to arrest those involved in the incidents, he said.

Special teams have been formed to track the miscreants and nab them at the earliest, Mohanty said.

Miscreants had held the hotelier at gunpoint and snatched a gold chain, worth Rs 50,000, from him near Rasulgarh Square on Tuesday night, the police said, adding, the victim was with sharp weapons also.

The incident took place a few hours after three robberies took place in the city on Tuesday.