BHUBANESWAR: The Commissionerate Police arrested six persons from a place near Laxmi Narayan Temple in Unit-IV while they were planning a dacoity late on Tuesday.
The accused have been identified as Hemant Das (49) of Old Town, Jitendra Palei alias Jitu (29) of Niali, P Rajesh Rao alias Linga (21) of Banapur in Balugaon, Prabhat Kumar Prasad alias Chotu (28) of Laxmi Sagar, Ravi Rao (19) of Shanti Nagar slum in Kharvel Nagar and Alekha Sahu (26) of Chendipada in Angul district.
Police have seized a 7.65 bore country-made pistol, sharp weapons, 2,565 packets of cigarettes worth `four lakh, gold ornaments and 20 gms of mortgaged gold, 17 mobile phones, two laptops, one motorcycle and a car.
Police Commissioner RP Sharma said the accused have criminal antecedents. Hemant, kingpin of the gang, has been involved in 65 cases of burglary since 1986. His area of operation was Cuttack, Puri, Khurda and Angul. Jitu was involved in 14 cases of dacoity, robbery and was booked under Arms Act in the past.
Several cases are pending against Linga under Balugaon and Banapur police limits, while Chotu was wanted by police in a robbery case under Nayapalli police limits.
The Commissionerate Police was on the lookout for this gang in connection with seven loot and chain snatching cases in the Twin City of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack in last two months, said Sharma.
The accused were produced in a local court which remanded them to judicial custody and a search has been launched for the seventh member.