In a significant breakthrough, the Ainthapali police have apprehended Pankaj Paswan, a 26-year-old dacoit from Hajipur, Bihar, and his cousin Ajay Paswan, in connection with the armed robbery at the Manappuram Finance office in Bubarja, Sambalpur.
Pankaj was arrested from Hooghly district, West Bengal, while Ajay was nabbed in the Thelkuli area of Sambalpur. A case has been registered against the duo for robbery and illegal arms dealing. The two, along with other members of their gang, are accused of robbing gold worth Rs20 crore and cash from the Manappuram Finance office earlier this month. As of now, the police have yet to recover 28 kg of gold and Rs4.81 lakh in cash.
Police sources indicate that the Subodh Singh and Palu Singh gangs, notorious criminal groups from Bihar, are believed to have orchestrated the robbery. While Pankaj’s team was not involved in the Jajpur dacoity, Subodh Singh’s gang is linked to both incidents. Both gang leaders are currently in jail but had plotted the Sambalpur robbery, selecting Pankaj, Sublan, and Sanjay to carry out the crime.
The three men have a history of gold robberies in Bihar’s Hajipur, and they had been living in a rented house in Thelkuli for over a month prior to the robbery. The house was rented by another cousin, Ajay, and the group had been closely monitoring the Manappuram Finance office for weeks before executing the heist.
The investigation continues as police work to locate the remaining members of the gang and recover the stolen valuables.