Puri: Cracking a high-profile highway robbery case in Odisha’s Puri district in less than a fortnight, police arrested four persons, including an MBA student and a jeweller, and seized stolen gold and silver ornaments worth nearly Rs 79 lakh.
Police said unidentified miscreants intercepted a vehicle carrying cash, gold and silver from Radha Krushna Jewellery on NH‑316 near Samjajpur Over‑Bridge in Chandanpur area on November 20. The robbers, armed with a pistol, took away ornaments and cash before fleeing the scene.
Following a complaint by the proprietor of the jewellery shop, the Puri Superintendent of Police ordered the formation of two Special Investigation Wings. The case, registered at Chandanpur Police Station, was named Operation “White M
etal.” Raids were conducted at multiple hideouts, leading to the arrest of the four accused on Monday and Tuesday.
The arrested persons have been identified as Tukula alias Tuku Nayak (45), owner, Nilakantha Jewellery, Bira Narasinghpur, Chandanpur, Prasant Pradhan (41) of Puri, M. Goutham (24) of Vishakhapatnam, and Subhrajit Mohanty (22), MBA student at Srusti Academy of Management, Bhubaneswar and a resident of Balasore.
Investigation revealed that Tuku Nayak, a local jewellery shop owner and acquaintance of the complainant, conspired with Prasant Pradhan, who recruited three hardened criminals from Andhra Pradesh. The gang used a car and a motorcycle for the robbery and subsequent escape. The stolen items were later recovered from the accused’s possession, and they have confessed to the crime.
The seized articles included gold ornaments: 8 necklaces weighing 132 grams, silver ornaments of 31 kg, Rs six lakh in cash, a car, a motorcycle, six mobile phones, and one pistol. Total value of recovered property was estimated at Rs 78,96,000/-, police said.
Further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend any additional participants.