Sambalpur Manappuram Heist: Odisha Police To Bring Mastermind On Remand From Bihar Jail

Bhubaneswar: A eight-member team of Odisha Police has left for Bihar to take custody of the alleged mastermind of January 3 heist at Manappuram Finance in Sambalpur, Pallu Singh lodged at Beur Central Jail.

He will be brought to Sambalpur on 10-day remand and interrogated him regarding the loot 28 kg gold, sources said.

On January 10, IG (northern range), Himanshu Lal, claimed the role of inter-state dacoity gang with masterminds operating from jails in Bihar and West Bengal, in the daring daylight dacoity. “The gang of Subodh Singh and Pallu Singh, currently lodged in separate jails in Bihar and West Bengal, are involved in the loot case. One is lodged at Beur jail in Patna and the other, at Presidency Jail in Kolkata, West Bengal. They are working with criminals while in jail. Efforts will be made to tightened the noose around this gang to prevent any recurrence,” he told the media.

Seven days later, two persons, identified as Pankaj Paswan and Ajay Paswan of Bihar’s Hajipur, were arrested by Ainthapali police. They were nabbed from Thelkuli area but no gold could be recovered from them.

A group of unidentified armed robbers barged into the Manappuram Gold Loan office on Budharaja Main Road in Sambalpur city just after it had opened on January 3 and fled on motorcycles with approximately 30 kg of gold along with cash worth over Rs 4 lakh.

Some of the robbers held three employees at gunpoint and tied up the hands and feet of the branch manager, while others got the keys and password to the vault and robbed the gold jewellery and cash. Some of them were also guarding the branch outside, according to the FIR.

In a statement, Manappuram Finance said preliminary investigations suggested that the stolen assets were valued at approximately Rs 20 crore.