A renowned orthopaedic surgeon and his wife, both in their 60s, were injured after being attacked by unidentified men who waylaid and looted the couple near Barwaddah, around 5km from the district headquarters, on Wednesday night.

Dr Kailash Prasad, 69, is currently undergoing treatment at Kailash Hospital in Bartand run by him for a fractured jaw and scalp injury.

His wife Sharda Devi, 65, who was left with lacerations on the middle and ring fingers of her right hand, had been released from the same hospital after primary treatment.

The elderly couple’s driver Mahesh Kumar and two housemaids, Basanti Mandal and Shazda Khatoon, were also injured in the incident that took place around 11.30pm when they were returning home in Bartand from a wedding at Parkland Resort in Govindpur.

The couple’s four-year-old grandson Yug, who was also in the same car, escaped unharmed.

Talking to the media on Thursday, Sharda said the looters fled with gold ornaments, including a necklace, earrings and rings, and Rs 50,000.

“We had started our return journey from Govindpur around 11.15pm. As soon as we reached Bhelatand petrol pump, we saw a tree branch blocking the road. When our driver put our car in reverse gear, a mini truck came from behind and obstructed the path. Soon, 7-8 men jumped out from the nearby bushes and started attacking us with sticks and rods,” Sharda said.

She said her husband and the driver were dragged out of the car by the attackers, some of whom had their faces covered with gamchhas, and repeatedly beaten.

The criminals then snatched the ornaments and cash before fleeing the spot.

Kailash’s son Dr Ashish Bajaj said the estimated value of the looted items had not been ascertained yet.

“The attack was brutal. Though we have been assured speedy investigation into the case by senior police officials, including senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kishore Kaushal, but we are scared,” Ashish said.

He said Kailash was initially admitted to Asian Dwarkadas Jalan Superspeciality Hospital, but later shifted to his own hospital after mandatory tests.

Dhanbad MLA Raj Sinha and mayor Chandrashekhar Agarwal met Kailash, former head of the orthopaedics department at Patliputra Medical College and Hospital, on Thursday.

State president of Indian Medical Association Dr A.K. Singh, who also met Kailash, said: “We strongly condemn the incident and demand immediate arrest of the culprits, failing which we will be compelled to hit the streets.”

Dhanabd SSP Kishore Kaushal said a special team led by city SP R. Ramkumar was probing the case and conducting raids.

“We have apprehended two persons for questioning and are hopeful of arresting the culprits soon,” he added.