Kendrapara: In a major crackdown, police arrested 23 wanted members of the tender mafia, including Sapho, the brother of notorious gangster Tito, after conducting raids at various hideouts in the district late on Monday night.
More than 13 cases are pending against Sapho alias Sayad Imran Ali, Kendrapara Superintendent of police (SP) Nitinjeet Singh said.
IG (Central) RP Koche said police had launched a search operation since January to nab the tender mafia following complaints from different orgnanisations.
“Six contractors from the district were also arrested for their alleged complicity in tender fixing. Besides, some other criminals were also held from Nayagarh, Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack districts,, Koche told OTV. At least 30 guns and a large cache of ammunition were seized from their possession, he added.
The operation will be intensified further in the coming days to put more criminals behind bars, Koche said.
Following the arrest of hardened criminal and tender fixer Sushant Dhalsamanta and Sushil Dhalsamanta, the police have intensified the special operation against the tender mafia across the State. The State Crime Branch also prepared a list of tender fixers and is conducting raids on them.
During the senior police officers’ conference last month, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had asked police officials to deal sternly with the tender mafia.