In a significant breakthrough, Rourkela police have successfully dismantled an inter-state gang involved in a series of gold jewelry thefts, leading to the arrest of nine individuals from Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha.
The gang operated under the pretext of offering free jewelry cleaning services, posing as representatives of a reputed wellness brand. They used this ruse to deceive unsuspecting victims into handing over their valuable gold jewelry for “cleaning,” only to steal it in the process.
The arrested suspects have been identified as Amit Kumar Sah (30), Goutam Kumar Soni (33), Kundan Sah (41), Dhananjay Kumar Sharma (32), Arbind Kumar Soni (30), Mehraj Haldar (36), and Anil Kumar (49) from Bihar; Amit Kumar (30) from Jharkhand; and Ashok Yadab (42) from Sundargarh, Odisha.
Upon their arrest, the police seized a total of 103.3 grams of stolen gold in both ornament and melted forms, alongside three motorcycles and eight mobile phones, seven of which were smartphones.
The police investigation was prompted by a complaint from Kama Behera at Sector 7 police station. The gang had been using distraction tactics to steal jewelry while posing as cleaners. They had rented a house in Gopabandhupali under the Plantsite police station jurisdiction since 2021, where they executed their scheme.
As of now, 27 similar theft cases have been reported in the Rourkela Police District, with the gang confirmed to have been involved in 21 of these cases. Police are continuing to investigate further to track down any remaining associates and establish connections with additional crimes across neighboring districts.
