BERHAMPUR:Nearly a week after two criminals from Bihar were shot dead at Lanjipalli in the City, Berhampur police claimed to have solved the case with the arrest of two persons from Munger in Bihar. They were brought on transit remand on Tuesday.
Speaking to mediapersons, Berhampur SP Sarthak Sarangi said the two accused, Banti Kumar Singh and Bhola Kumar Singh, were arrested on Monday and brought on remand. The murder was a fall-out of gang rivalry, he added.
The two criminals from Bihar, Sailesh Yadav and Lalu Kumar Yadav, were shot dead on May 6 near Lanjipalli.
Sailesh of Munger was involved in several crimes and Bihar Police had announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000 on him. Sailesh and his gang of 12 men used to loot train passengers on Khurda-Visakhapatnam route. In Berhampur, the gang used to distribute the booty and plan their future loots, the SP said.
Lalu, the other deceased, also started operating on the same route to which Sailesh protested. To settle the issue, Sailesh went to Lalu’s home at Munger on April 25 and warned him not to operate on the route. But, Lalu did not heed his warning.
On May 4, both the groups reached Berhampur where Lalu’s group checked into a lodge in Kamapalli while Sailesh’s group stayed in a rented house in Anantanagar of the city. Next day, Sailesh and Lalu reached at a compromise but the other gang members did not agree to it.
On the fateful day, Lalu with his three accomplices boarded a train at Berhampur to loot passengers. When Sailesh came to know about it, he sent four of his men to follow Lalu.
However, Lalu’s gang failed to loot any passenger and alighted at Chhatrapur station. They took an auto-rickshaw to return to Berhampur. The associates of Sailesh followed Lalu’s men in another auto.
When Lalu learnt that he was being followed by Sailesh’s men, he took a diversion towards Lanjipalli bypass. At the bypass, Sailesh’s gang detained Lalu’s three-wheeler. On finding Sailesh with a mauser, Lalu shot him dead and started to flee. Sailesh’s gang followed him and fired several rounds. After the death of the two gang leaders, their accomplices fled. The two arrested belong to Lalu’s gang and efforts are on to nab others, said Sarangi.
Gang War
■ On May 6, Sailesh Yadav and Lalu Kumar Yadav were shot dead near Lanjipalli. The two arrested belong to Lalu’s gang
■ The two groups were engaged in looting train passengers on Khurda-Visakhapatnam route
■ The murder was a fall-out of gang rivalry