A notorious criminal gang, which was involved in looting money from cash counters of several chemist shops in Bhubaneswar, has been busted by the Commissionerate Police. Four operatives of the gang have been arrested by the police.
Addressing a presser on Thursday, Police Commissioner Saumendra Priyadarshi said a special team led by ACP Sanjeev Satpathy was constituted after reports of the loot were reported from Baragada, Nayapalli, Lingaraj and Kharavela Nagar areas in the Capital city.
"Our special squad finally busted the gang and arrested four miscreants in connection with the heists. Significantly, all the accused are residents of West Bengal. They were staying at a lodge near Ashok Nagar area and operating from there. They were also planning to carry out such loots in Cuttack when our police team intercepted them and rounded them up," said Priyadarshi.
All the members of the gang are 7th class pass. While the prime accused Raju hails from Nadia district in West Bengal, the other three- Deepak Biswas, Sankar De and Sonu- are from North 24 Parganas. The modus operandi of the gang was to loot, especially chemist shops, by diverting the attention of the shopkeepers , he said.
The Commissioner further said, "During investigation, we found that the gang had earlier carried out such loots in Berhampur. We suspect there may be some more operatives of the gang. Our investigation is still underway."
Police have recovered Rs 39000 cash, 4 mobile phones, 2 voter IDs and an Aadhaar card from their possession.
Meanwhile, Priyadarshi has urged traders and businessmen to remain alert during transactions and keep cash box locked. “We are always with you but at the same time you also need to be alert when there is a rush at the shop or when a customer behaves in a strange manner,” he added.