Bhubaneswar: Five members of a gang smuggling country-made guns and involved in several other crimes, were arrested with fire arms and live bullets near Mahaveer College on the Cuttack-Khurda road within Chandaka police station limits in Bhubaneswar late on Tuesday.
They have been identified as Bhabani Prasad Mohanty (32), Sheikh Rahemat Alli (28), Mohammed Zakir (26), Deepak Kumar Sahoo (36) and Sangram Pradhan alias Chandan (29).
“During a blockade on Tuesday night, a special squad of Commissionerate Police arrested five persons with five country-made guns which includes two revolvers and three mausers, 15 live bullets, Rs 84,000 in cash. They were travelling in an SUV, which too has been seized,” Commissioner of Police Suresh Devidutt Singh told a presser on Wednesday.
Seven mobile phones were also recovered from the accused, who are active in weapons trafficking.
He further stated that several cases are pending against them in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri. “The gang led by Chandan Pradhan of Khurdha was involved in several dacoity, theft and burglary cases. They were also operating in Khurdha, Jagatsinghpur and other nearby districts. They are currently out on bail. We will move the courts concerned to reject their bails. The accused were involved in cattle smuggling, extortion and illegal trading of minor minerals,” he added.
Sources said that the accused revealed their involvement in an organised crime network operating across the state during interrogation. The weapons seized were reportedly sourced from a neighbouring state and used to intimidate local businessmen for extortion.
Apart from these five, police also arrested nine others who were on the run after committing burglaries in houses under Tamando, Mancheswar, Bharatpur and Airport police limits.
“At least 102 gram of gold have been seized from their possession. Cars and motorcycles used by them have also been seized,” Singh said.
Some US and Canadian dollars were also seized from them. Two among them arrested by Tamando police have been identified as Manoj Kumar Singh (40) and Jayanta Kumar Panigrahi (46).
The Commissionerate police would continue its drive against criminals and antisocial and will follow a zero tolerance approach to ensure safety and security of people, he added.
