Bhubaneswar: Commissionerate Police bust a robbery gang and arrested seven of its members on Monday. Those arrested include manager of the guest house Hote Saloni Palace Dinesh Bhoi and two mobile repair shop owners.
This gang was active only after 11 pm, when the capital city was under night curfew. Their target were mostly petty businessmen and fish vendors.
Informing mediapersons about the arrests, DCP Umashankar Dash said the gang was involved in a series of attack and robbery cases. They used to target journalists, traders and individuals who were allowed to travel during the restricted hours, between 10 pm and 5 am.
They engaged in snatching mobile phones, cash and other valuables from the targets and attacking them.
The arrested are Arun Sahu (19), Jaydeb Behera (24), Kesu Reddy (27), Jagdish Achari (25), Prasanta Maharana (28) and Saroj Gochhi (35). Maharana and Gochhi run mobile phone repair shops, said Dash.
The accused are involved in 18 cases of robberies in Laxmisagar, Capital Infocity, Khandigiri, Sahid Nagar, Badagada, Nayapalli, Kharvel Nagar and Bharatpur.
On January 13 night, they had robbed cash, gold ring and other valuables from a journalist while a month later, on February 14 they carried out four robberies in one night, said the DCP. A victim from Nayapali area is undergoing treatment at a hospital, he added.
The manager of OYO hotel under Tamando police limits has been arrested for giving shelter to accused and not sharing details about the guests/visitors at the hotel with the police. Moreover, the gang used to carry out their plans from the same hotel, DCP said.
The small mobile phone repairing shop owner used to help them by cracking the passwords of the phones and make those saleable. A receiver of the stolen property is among the arrested, Dash added. A total of 21 mobile phones, a sword and two bikes have been seized from the gang members.
