The Commissionerate police in Cuttack’s Choudwar arrested three individuals on Sunday, who were part of a gang involved in robbing a government officer last month. The accused were identified as Trilochan Samantaray (29), Siba Prasad Das (36), and Kanha alias Aditya Kumar Behera (24). Samantaray and Behera are from Kendrapada’s Rajnagar area, while Das is from Sundargarh district.
The police revealed that the gang’s modus operandi was to impersonate travellers and target unsuspecting individuals. On the evening of January 29, the victim, Manas Ranjan Dhala, a 46-year-old officer at the district education office in Kendrapada, was waiting at Duria chowk for a bus to Cuttack. The accused approached Dhala, claiming they were headed to Cuttack and offered him a lift, stating that no buses were available at the time.
Once Dhala entered their vehicle, the criminals took him to a secluded area, where they threatened him with a toy gun. They stole his mobile phone, a wallet containing Rs 22,000, and other valuables before abandoning him by the roadside in Cuttack. The police have now arrested the suspects and are continuing their investigation.
