Ranchi, Mar 26 (IANS): Unidentified miscreants looted gold worth Rs 20 lakh from a trader in state capital Ranchi on Friday, the police said.

According to the police, the incident took place in the heart of Ranchi between the Sahjanand roundabout and the Harmu Mukti Dham. The trader was carrying around half kg gold.

"I always bring gold from Kolkatta. On Friday morning, I returned from Kolkatta with half kg gold. My brother picked me up from the Ranchi railway station and were returning home on a Scooty. We did not realise that three bike-born criminals were following us. When we were crossing the Harmu bypass area, the criminals asked us to stop. One of them then pointed a revolver at my brother and asked for the bag containing the gold. They threatened to kill us if we didn't hand over the bag to them. One of them then snatched the bag as the trio fled the spot," said Jitendra Kumar, the victim.

On being informed by the trader about the incident, the police reached the spot to probe the matter. They are presently scanning the CCTV footages to trace the criminals.