Kalahandi cops arrest 6 dacoits from Ranchi, recover Rs 3.5cr | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Police in Kalahandi district on Saturday recovered Rs 3.51 crore after arresting a gang of six dacoits from Jharkhand’s Ranchi. The robbers stole the cash at gunpoint from a liquor manufacturing facility in Dharamgarh, Kalahandi, during the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. Two more were caught in Kalahandi.
Odisha police sources said this was the biggest cash robbery from a commercial establishment in the state, but the entire amount was recovered within 24 hours.
“State police headquarters provided technical support and guidance to Kalahandi police. Police of 11 districts — seven in Odisha and four in Jharkhand — were involved in the massive operation. Credit goes to Kalahandi police for arresting all the accused and recovering the entire money in swift time,” DGP Y B Khurania said.
The accused, aged between 30 and 40 years, all from Jharkhand, were identified as Tahir Ansari from Narkopi, Hussen Khan from Lohargada, Basudev Gope from Gumla, Jasim Khan, Samim Ansari, Pintu alias Alim, Anuj Kumar and Kameswar Yadav from Chanho. Police seized a country-made pistol with ammunition and a knife from them.
Following the dacoity, Kalahandi police secured all entry and exit points. Sources said the police authorities tracked the suspects’ vehicle through CCTV footage and chased them for about 30 km at night. The criminals attempted to escape by jumping from their vehicle.
Kalahandi SP Abilash G said that police initially apprehended two criminals while six others escaped. “Information from the captured suspects led to the arrest of their associates from Ranchi,” Abilash said.
Investigation revealed that one of the accused previously worked at the liquor facility but was terminated recently for misconduct. Some of the accused had prior involvement in multiple robbery cases in Jharkhand and had served three years of imprisonment for a previous theft.
Police plan to seek custody of the robbers for further questioning regarding potential involvement in other crimes within and outside the state. “We will try to find out whether the gang was involved in any other cases in Odisha. Police of other states too have been informed,” another police officer said.
Odisha police sources said this was the biggest cash robbery from a commercial establishment in the state, but the entire amount was recovered within 24 hours.
“State police headquarters provided technical support and guidance to Kalahandi police. Police of 11 districts — seven in Odisha and four in Jharkhand — were involved in the massive operation. Credit goes to Kalahandi police for arresting all the accused and recovering the entire money in swift time,” DGP Y B Khurania said.
The accused, aged between 30 and 40 years, all from Jharkhand, were identified as Tahir Ansari from Narkopi, Hussen Khan from Lohargada, Basudev Gope from Gumla, Jasim Khan, Samim Ansari, Pintu alias Alim, Anuj Kumar and Kameswar Yadav from Chanho. Police seized a country-made pistol with ammunition and a knife from them.
Following the dacoity, Kalahandi police secured all entry and exit points. Sources said the police authorities tracked the suspects’ vehicle through CCTV footage and chased them for about 30 km at night. The criminals attempted to escape by jumping from their vehicle.
Kalahandi SP Abilash G said that police initially apprehended two criminals while six others escaped. “Information from the captured suspects led to the arrest of their associates from Ranchi,” Abilash said.
Investigation revealed that one of the accused previously worked at the liquor facility but was terminated recently for misconduct. Some of the accused had prior involvement in multiple robbery cases in Jharkhand and had served three years of imprisonment for a previous theft.
Police plan to seek custody of the robbers for further questioning regarding potential involvement in other crimes within and outside the state. “We will try to find out whether the gang was involved in any other cases in Odisha. Police of other states too have been informed,” another police officer said.
