Balangir: Police in Odisha’s Balangir cracked an interstate theft racket by lifting a crucial fingerprint from a crime scene, leading to busting of a nine-member gang and arrest of an additional accomplice.
The breakthrough came after police found fingerprint evidence at a jewellery shop looted on January 31 in Chudapali. It belonged to Panchu Behera, a known habitual offender. Balangir SP Abhilash G confirmed that the fingerprint was cross-verified through records, following which he was immediately arrested.
Building on this lead, officers analysed mobile tower data in the vicinity at the time of the theft. This technical scrutiny flagged a suspicious phone number linked to another suspect from Nayagarh district. Interrogation of the two suspects yielded critical information, enabling police to track down and apprehend the remaining gang members.
In total, nine gang members, six from Nayagarh district and three from Balangir, along with a local trader, Fortune Kumar Sahoo, accused of assisting the group by remelting and remaking the stolen jewellery, have been arrested. A silver brick and some gold jewellery have been seized from them.
The gang allegedly targeted temples and jewellery shops after meticulous reconnaissance.
Police have linked the accused to thefts at jewellery shops in Loisingha and Chudapali, a hardware store in Balangir town, and Salepali Shiva Temple.
