BHUBANESWAR: The Quick Action Team (QAT) of the Commissionerate Police foiled a dacoity bid and arrested five persons at Chakesiani under Mancheswar police limits here late on Thursday.
Two 7.65 mm bore pistols and five live ammunitions were seized from the possession of the accused. Besides, two motorcycles, three mobile phones and cash of `5490 were seized from them.
The arrested persons are Suryakant Mohapatra, Goutam Mandal, Saroj Moharana, Trinath Behera alias Nath and Subash Rout alias Rocky, all residents of Jatni.
Sources said Suryakant, the leader of the dacoit gang, along with Trinath was involved in extortion. The police are verifying their criminal antecedents and areas of operation.
Suryakant works as a driver while Saroj is a bar attendant in Jatni. Subash is a student, Police Commissioner RP Sharma told mediapersons here on Friday.
As the arms recovered from them are sophisticated, police suspect involvement of an inter-State gang which is engaged in smuggling firearms from Munger district in Bihar and Tatanagar in Jharkhand into Bhubaneswar, Puri and Berhampur. The weapons are later sold to local gangs active in the State, said Sharma.
The five will be produced in court soon, the Commissioner added.
Man Held for Killing Wife’s Molester
A 32-year-old man, who was attacked with a sharp weapon on Wednesday night, succumbed to his injuries on Friday at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. The deceased was identified as Kedar Jena of Barakuda village under Airfield police limits. The accused, Kedar Baral (36), has been arrested.
Police sources said Jena, a resident of Bari in Jajpur, tried to outrage the modesty of Baral’s wife. As she raised an alarm, Baral attacked Jena with a dagger.
Jena sustained grievous injuries and was rushed to Capital Hospital. He was later shifted to SCB as his condition worsened.
Drug Peddler Nabbed
A team of Excise Intelligence (EI) and Enforcement Bureau (EB) arrested a 30-year-old youth on the charge of possessing drugs here on Friday.
About 40 grams of heroine, whose market value is estimated at around ` five lakh, was seized from the accused. The accused, Sanjit Sethi of Samantrapur, is the son of a retired police constable. Sethi was involved in drug peddling at several locations in the city, said sources.
On the basis of information gathered during questioning of a woman drug peddler Aisa Bibi, EI and EB officials came to know about Sethi’s activities. Bibi was arrested last month. The officials laid a trap to nab Sethi while he was about to sell the contraband near the city railway station.