In a major breakthrough, Odisha Police busted an inter-state robbery gang and arrested eight individuals involved in the heist. The gang had stolen a whopping Rs 3.51 crore from a liquor factory in Kalahandi district on the night of January 30.
The arrested suspects, identified as Tahir Ansari, Hussain Khan, Jasim Khan, Samim Ansari, Basudev Gope, Pintu alias Alim, Anuj Kumar, and Samim Ansari, are all residents of Ranchi, Jharkhand. Along with the stolen cash, the police also seized arms, ammunition, and the vehicles used in the crime.
According to Odisha’s DGP YB Khurania, the robbery took place at a country liquor factory in Dharmagarh, where eight armed criminals entered the premises, threatened the workers, and looted the cash. A case was filed at Dharmagarh Police Station, prompting a swift response from law enforcement.
A special police team, led by Kalahandi SP Abilash G, was formed to investigate the case. The robbers had fled to Jharkhand in a van, but Odisha Police, in collaboration with police from 11 districts across Odisha and Jharkhand, tracked down the criminals. The first two suspects were arrested on January 30, and a further investigation led to the arrest of the remaining six in Jharkhand by January 31.
The operation saw police forces from Kalahandi, Bolangir, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, and Rourkela in Odisha, as well as Gumla, Ranchi Rural, Lohardaga, West Singhbhum, and Simdega from Jharkhand, working together to apprehend the gang. Proper coordination between the police forces of both states proved essential in the successful operation.
The police have commended the swift action, and further investigations are underway as they look to uncover more details about the criminal gang’s operations.
