BHUBANESWAR: Police on Tuesday arrested three persons including a couple for their alleged involvement in a series of chain snatching incidents in the capital city.
Eight stolen gold chains, including four that had been mortgaged at a nationalised bank branch in Baramunda, a four-wheeler and a Yamaha motorcycle have been seized from them.
The accused have been identified as Rakesh Rout (35), his wife Swetalina Behera (27) from Natakei village and Golekh Chandra Sathua (65) from Gopapur village, all of Nischintakoili in Cuttack. While Rout is the prime accused, his wife assisted him in the crimes and Sathua was the receiver of the stolen items, police said.
Police arrested the trio after receiving complaint from one of the victims of chain snatching in Niladri Vihar area of the city in December 2025. Chandrasekharpur police said during interrogation, Rout confessed to have committed robbery and snatching multiple times in the locality as well as in Nayapalli, Infocity and Bharatpur areas.
Investigation revealed the three had been involved in nine different cases registered with Chandrasekharpur, Nayapalli and Infocity police between October 2025 and March 2026.
Police said Rout, a habitual offender, used a rented Yamaha motorcycle from a bike rental service centre in Baramunda to commit the crimes. Further probe revealed he resumed the criminal activities recently after a period of reform since 2015, during which he was running a betel shop in the city. His wife helped him dispose of the stolen gold chains, police said.
To mislead the investigators and avoid suspicion during CCTV scanning, Rout would allegedly drop his wife at a particular location, commit the crime and pick her up afterwards.
A case under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered against the accused and further investigation is in progress, police said.