Jharsuguda, Mar 3: An armed robbery occurred late on Monday night at Talamunda village under the Laikera Police Station jurisdiction, where five masked assailants tied up a married couple and stole cash and gold jewellery worth over ₹70 lakh.

Reports suggest that the victims, Prakash Naik and his wife Jhili Naik, were asleep at their residence when the robbers broke in around 1 am. The five attackers, armed with firearms, broke into the house. They tied the couple's hands and legs, threatening them with weapons, before looting gold ornaments that the couple was wearing and additional jewellery from a cupboard.

During the robbery, Prakash Naik sustained injuries, with cuts on both his shoulders inflicted by a sword used by one of the robbers. The miscreants also destroyed the couple’s mobile phones to prevent them from contacting the authorities.

After the robbery, the Laikera Police, along with a scientific investigation team, arrived at the scene and initiated a probe.