Bhubaneswar: Two home guards and a ‘gram rakhi’ are among the five arrested for allegedly looting Rs 1.15 lakh cash from two persons, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, in Odisha’s Koraput district.
The incident took place on Thursday when the two persons, Kamedi TT Babu and Bisoyi Bhimdhar, from Andhra Pradesh were reportedly on their way to Jeypore to buy a power tiller. Due to excess heat, they decided to make a halt at a rest shed. As they were resting, the five accused reached the spot in a car, assaulted them and snatched all their money. The accused also tried to run the vehicle over the duo as they made efforts to stop them, sources said.
“This was definitely a challenging task and very saddening at the same time. Of the five accused, three are our staff. The two other accused are local criminals who were previously involved in ganja smuggling, extortion and loots,” Nandapur SDPO Sanjay Mahapatra told the media.
He said that the entry and exit points were blocked and the five were nabbed after a chase. Three mobile phones and Rs 80,000 were seized from them, he added.
The accused home guards, Damrudhan Majhi and Arjun Pangi, are currently deployed at Padua police station in Koraput district. The gram rakhi has been identified as Nilakantha Pangi.
The mastermind of the gang is a former samiti member, sources added.
