Main accused in Rs 20cr gold heist arrested from Guwahati, brought to Sambalpur on remand | Bhubaneswar News
Sambalpur: Prime accused in the Rs 20 crore gold heist from Manappuram Finance branch in Sambalpur’s Budhraja area on Jan 3, was arrested from Guwahati on Sunday, police said. The accused was identified as Uttam Paswan (34). “He was brought here on transit demand for five days,” IG (northern range) Himanshu Lal said on Wednesday. Police have so far arrested three robbers.
Two other accused, identified as Pankaj Paswan (26) and Ajay Paswan (29), both residents of Hajipur in Bihar, were arrested from separate places. Police sources said the two accused have criminal antecedents and are involved in the illegal weapons trade.
“The entire team is engaged in recovering the gold from the robbers. Perseverance is most important to crack these kinds of cases where big gangsters are involved. We will recover the valuables gradually; the process will take some time,” Lal said.
Police earlier said that two other masterminds of the gang were operating from two separate jails in the country. One gang leader, identified as Pallu Singh, is an inmate of Beur jail in Patna, and another, Subodh Singh, is lodged in Presidency jail in Kolkata. “The two gang leaders operating from prison will also be brought on remand,” said Lal.
Police said the gang conducted a recce of the place before the heist. The gold robbery gang is not the same one involved in the Jajpur robbery and murder case, but both teams were closely connected.
A gang of around seven robbers had looted 30 kg of gold from the vault of the NBFC’s branch soon after it opened on Jan 3. Lack of a security guard and absence of strong security systems helped the robbers loot the gold and some cash, after assaulting the branch staff and binding their hands and legs with ropes.
Two other accused, identified as Pankaj Paswan (26) and Ajay Paswan (29), both residents of Hajipur in Bihar, were arrested from separate places. Police sources said the two accused have criminal antecedents and are involved in the illegal weapons trade.
“The entire team is engaged in recovering the gold from the robbers. Perseverance is most important to crack these kinds of cases where big gangsters are involved. We will recover the valuables gradually; the process will take some time,” Lal said.
Police earlier said that two other masterminds of the gang were operating from two separate jails in the country. One gang leader, identified as Pallu Singh, is an inmate of Beur jail in Patna, and another, Subodh Singh, is lodged in Presidency jail in Kolkata. “The two gang leaders operating from prison will also be brought on remand,” said Lal.
Police said the gang conducted a recce of the place before the heist. The gold robbery gang is not the same one involved in the Jajpur robbery and murder case, but both teams were closely connected.
A gang of around seven robbers had looted 30 kg of gold from the vault of the NBFC’s branch soon after it opened on Jan 3. Lack of a security guard and absence of strong security systems helped the robbers loot the gold and some cash, after assaulting the branch staff and binding their hands and legs with ropes.
