On August 24, a mobile phone was recovered from the cell of gangster Susanta Dhalasamant's cell in Bolangir jail. The recovery of the mobile phone reinforced allegations that criminals are freely operating their crime syndicate from behind the four walls of the prisons. This is a serious issue which the law enforcing agencies seems to struggling to curb for years together now.

For those unversed, Susanta Dhalsamant is the brother of Sushil Dhalsamant who once used to rule the crime world and the duo was called as the D-Brothers. Both the gangster brothers are now behind the bars after their arrest by Commissionerate Police in 2016.

The Arrest Of D Brothers

Senior police officials, who were part of the special operation, said that the team that went to nab the gangster D brothers had no information about where they were heading for the raid at Pokhariput area in Bhubaneswar. A massive search was subsequently conducted at the gangster brothers’ house at CDA in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

The cops were then surprised after they recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition including three revolvers, 108 live bullets, 13 mobile phones and cash worth over Rs 11 lakh from their Pokhariput den. In Cuttack, the police stumbled on cash worth Rs 2.56 crore, a few pistols, live bullets, a carbine and a double-barrel gun. They also found 18 bank passbooks and two handcuffs.

Gangster Brothers’ Crime Record

Both the gangster brothers- Sushil and Susant Dhalsamant have been involved in the crime world since 1993. Sushant, who was wanted in three murder cases, was absconding since 2004. He travelled to several states and was active in Visakhapatnam where he was staying by the name of Manoj Patnaik. An Andhra Pradesh driving licence carrying the photograph of Sushant with his false identity was also seized then.

If sources are to be believed, both the gangster brothers were in close links with criminals of several states including Mumbai and Kolkata who were keen to expand their bases through them. Apart from extortion, the criminals were suspected to be running a large arms racket after the cops had seized several firearms and ammunition from their hideouts.

Sharpshooter Dipu And Om Murder Case

The arrest of the gangster brothers subsequently paved the way for the reopening of several old cases. In February 2016, Chauliaganj police registered a murder case against gangster duo Sushant and Sushil Dhalsamant based on a complaint filed by Mani Swain, the wife of Om Swain, another associate of the brothers who had gone missing in 2013.

Apart from Om, the spotlight was also on the mysterious disappearance of Dipu alias Manoj Mallick. It was alleged that both Om and Dipu were beaten to death by the gangster brothers along with a few other associates on November 13, 2013, a day after the duo had gone missing.

Dipu’s father played a crucial role and fought till the end seeking justice for his son. Chauliaganj police registered a murder case following a court direction based on the complaint of Adwaita Mallick who alleged that his son Dipu was murdered by the Dhal Samant brothers.

What Cops Claimed

Then Both Om and Dipu were the associates of the gangster brothers. They abducted the duo on November 13, 2013 and took them to a farmhouse in Athagarh which belonged to one Nirmal Rout, another aide of the D brothers. Both Om and Dipu, who were sharpshooters were beaten to death the next day. Chilling Details Of Murder Sources said that Dipu had joined the gang of the Dhalsamant brothers through another close associate of the duo in 2006.

Dipu was roped in as a sharpshooter by the gangster brothers and soon became one of their trusted men.

It was in 2011 when there came a twist. Dipu wanted to supersede the gangster brothers as they were paying him less for the works done for them. Later, the gangster brothers entrusted one of their key associates to keep a track on the movements of Dipu.

In 2013, Dipu went missing and was allegedly killed along with Om by the gangster brothers in Athagarh.

As then claimed by senior police officials, the gangster brothers had stuffed the bodies of Dipu and Om in gunny bags and straight headed to West Singhbhum area in Jharkhand. Two cars were then used and later the bodies were thrown off a bridge. The gang members then walked down the area and set the bodies on fire after pouring petrol on them.

Some villagers spotted the charred bodies and informed Gua police. A case under Indian Penal Code Sections 302, 34 was registered and the identity of the victims could not be established at that time as the bodies were burnt over 70 per cent. The Gua police subsequently conducted an autopsy and later buried the bodies.

In May 2016, Police filed a charge sheet in a local court against the Dhal Samant brothers and 14 others for the alleged murder of Manoj Mallick alias Dipu. The 1,120-page charge sheet contained statements of six persons, including Dipu's family members, forensic reports of bloodstains and other physical evidence.