BHUBANESWAR: Police on Friday busted two separate inter-state criminal gangs allegedly involved in stealing and snatching mobile phones and other valuables from Bhubaneswar and Puri, arresting 21 accused and recovering several phones from them.
The gangs had allegedly targeted bus passengers in the capital and devotees attending the ongoing Rath Yatra in Puri. While eight women were arrested from the capital, 13 accused were arrested from Puri on the day.
In Bhubaneswar, the city police arrested eight women, all Maharashtra natives, on charges of stealing mobile phones, cash and other valuables from passengers travelling in buses over the past few months. Based on a tip-off, a special police team patrolling under Nayapalli police limits received information that eight Hindi-speaking women at the CRP Square bus stop were attempting to sell stolen mobile phones at throwaway prices.
The team immediately reached the spot and detained the women after finding their movements suspicious. During interrogation, the accused reportedly confessed that the mobile phones had been stolen or snatched from various parts of Bhubaneswar.
Meanwhile, Puri police arrested 13 members of an inter-state gang, who travelled to the city allegedly to rob devotees during the Rath Yatra. The accused reportedly assaulted a 20-year-old pilgrim Omm Umesh Tatkar of Maharashtra and robbed his phone near Light House chowk at around 11 am on Thursday while he was returning to his hotel after taking part in the chariot festival.
Investigation revealed that the gang’s members, 11 from West Bengal and one each from Bihar and Jharkhand, had arrived in Puri recently to loot valuables from the devotees by taking advantage of the massive crowd. They are part of an organised syndicate that operates in crowded religious events, said the police. Baliapanda police 42 mobile phones and one SUV from the accused.
In a related development, Sea Beach police station officers arrested two West Bengal natives and a resident of Uttar Pradesh for snatching the mobile phone of a person on Thursday. Police seized a total of four mobile phones from the trio. Police have urged the tourists to remain alert and report any suspicious activity.
