Nayagarh police cracked the Mandhatapur bank robbery case within 48 hours, arresting four accused and recovering the entire stolen amount of Rs20.86 lakh, officials said on Wednesday. The operation was led by Nayagarh Superintendent of Police S Susree.
The arrested individuals have been identified as:
Sagar Moharana (26) – Jagatsinghpur district
Pramod Nayak (21) – Nayagarh district
Kartika Barad (50) – Nayagarh district
Purna Chandra Prusty (50) – Nayagarh district
According to SP Susree, the robbery was executed by six armed men around 5:15 PM on Wednesday, when they stormed into a nationalised bank branch in Mandhatapur and held employees and customers at gunpoint.
Barad and Prusty, while not physically present during the heist, acted as masterminds and facilitators, helping plan and coordinate the crime. One of the accused reportedly orchestrated the robbery to repay a large personal loan, police sources said.
Following the robbery, Nayagarh police launched district-wide nakabandi (checkpoints) and deployed special teams to conduct coordinated raids and search operations, which led to the swift arrests and full recovery of the cash.
“We’ve identified all suspects, and raids are underway to nab the remaining four who are absconding,” said SP Susree.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Moharana and Nayak have prior criminal records, including multiple theft and burglary cases registered across the district. Authorities are now probing possible links to other unsolved crimes.
