ROURKELA: Railway connectivity to adjacent Jharkhand and Bihar is proving to be a headache for Rourkela police in effectively containing crime in Steel City. In a change of strategy, anti-socials from outside Rourkela are taking the rail routes to sneak back to their safe havens after committing crimes in the city.
Earlier, criminals from Jharkhand and Bihar used different roads to escape from the jurisdiction of Rourkela police. But now, they are using trains to avoid getting caught during vehicle checking at entry/exit points.
Sources said criminal gangs from Bihar and Jharkhand are involved in many loot and snatching incidents in Rourkela. Besides, majority of the online frauds or cash theft from bank accounts are attributed to different gangs in Jamtara area of Jharkhand. Some criminals of Aska in Odisha’s Berhampur are also involved in burglary and snatching incidents.
Reliable sources in Rourkela police said criminals of Jharkhand and Bihar enjoy tacit support of the cops of these two states with an understanding that they would not commit crimes in their native areas. Moreover, when Rourkela police visits the two states for investigation, their counterparts there are reluctant to cooperate. In one such incident, a team of Rourkela police had gone to Jharkhand in pursuit of some criminals. But the cops were confronted by local women who bit a member of the police team.
Incidentally in the third week of November, Rs 14.93 lakh and Rs 5 lakh were looted from two persons at Uditnagar and Plant Site respectively when the duo was carrying the cash to deposit in banks.Rourkela SP Mukesh K Bhamoo said the demography of Rourkela city and nearby pockets like Bisra is helpful for criminals to mingle with the local population, hide for sometime and escape by trains. Steps have been taken to create awareness on the modus operandi of these criminals.
Police are on their toes to tackle criminal activities. Residents of the city should also remain careful to prevent incidents of loot and snatching, the SP added.Recently, trains are also being increasingly used for illegal transport of ‘ganja’ from Rourkela to different destinations.