PHULBANI: Kandhamal police on Wednesday arrested six persons including two women and recovered Rs 17.50 lakh cash which was looted from a businessman in Phulbani town two days back. The arrested persons were identified as A Kishore and A Hari, the masterminds of the loot and their associates M Lili, Saraswati, Litu Gouda and M Pandu. All of them belong to Pakalipalli village within Aska police limits in Ganjam district.
Kandhamal SP Suvendu Patra said on Monday, businessman Aswini Patra and his servant Ramesh were on their way to deposit Rs 17.50 lakh cash in a bank when Kishore and Hari snatched their money bag and fled on a bike. The duo was intercepted by police near Khajurigaon in Gochhapada, but they left their motorcycle at the roadside and ran into the nearby forest.
The same night, the associates of Kishore and Hari took them to Kesinga in the Kalahandi district in a car. On a tip-off, Kesinga police intercepted the car during vehicle checking and detained the six accused including the two women.
Subsequently, a team of Kandhamal police reached Kesinga and brought the accused to Phulbani. Apart from the stolen cash, tools for opening motorcycle dickeys and several master keys were seized from their possession, the SP added.