JEYPORE: Jeypore Town Police have cracked a series of thefts reported from various parts of the city and arrested five persons and detained two minors in connection with the thefts on Sunday.
The arrested are Raj Mandangi (19), Kartik Majhi (22), Madhab Bhumia (19), Kalish Bindhani (18), and Raju Nayak (52), all from Jeypore. Meanwhile, two minors were also detained. The gang had been operating across Kumbhar Sahi, Laxminagar, Parabeda, and Purnagada areas. Police said the seized items include gold and silver ornaments, Rs 2.30 lakh in cash and two cameras, among others.
The burglaries occurred during the night of November 7 and came to light after a complaint was lodged by Basanta Bhatta of Laxmi Nagar. He reported that while his tenant, Amit Kumar Sharma, who works in a private bank, had gone to Jamshedpur when unidentified miscreants broke into the house and stole gold ornaments, silver utensils, and Rs 30,000 in cash.
Further probe revealed that since November 1, a group of masked miscreants had been roaming residential areas at night, breaking locks and committing serial burglaries. Three houses in Khumarsahi and locations near Boys’ High School were also targeted.
CCTV footage from several points and inputs from informers helped police zero in on Mandangi. During interrogation, he confessed to involvement in four burglaries and named his associates.
Jeypore SDPO Partha Kashyap said further investigation is on.