Sambalpur superintendent of police Nikhil Kanodia with items seized from the robbers. Telegraph picture

Sambalpur, Feb. 12: Five robbers, who had hurled bombs at police after looting a house yesterday, were arrested from Rengali today while they were planning to escape to Bengal. Three gang members managed to flee.

Sambalpur police have seized two pistols, live ammunition, iron crow bar, Rs 16,000 in cash, five mobile phones, two gold chains, one locket, a gold ring, two digital cameras, wrist watches, imitation jewellery, swords and other weapons from them.

“This is an interstate gang of dacoits. They have been operating here for the last one-and-a-half years,” said superintendent of police Nikhil Kanodia.

Yesterday, the robbers entered a house at Chowdhury Chhak of Sindurpankh in the Sadar police station area of Sambalpur. Though the police had reached the spot while the dacoits were looting the house, the criminals managed to escape after lobbing two bombs, which wounded two cops.

The arrested have been identified as Sanjay Singh, Ali Seikh, Lakhan Biswas, Aftab Khan and Kamal Mandal. All of them are from Bengal. The police said they were involved in several robbery cases in Bengal, too. The three members, who fled, are Zia alias Babu, Bachhu and Meheboob.

“Sanjay Singh was convicted in a robbery case in Bengal and underwent seven years of imprisonment. Aftab Khan and Kamal Mandal had also been sentenced to seven years of imprisonment for robbery. Ali Seikh also has past criminal records. However, we are yet to find any past criminal record of Lakhan Biswas.”

“The robbers were staying in the house of Md Sonu as tenants at Motijharan in Sambalpur. They were involved in the Sarlakani dacoity in the Dhaupali police station area of Sambalpur on January 20. They had also looted a house on Dhama road in the Dhanupali police station area of the town on December 24 last year and tried to loot a house in the Sadar police limit on January 19 but failed.”

“During dacoity, they were simultaneously conversing in Odia, Hindi and Sambalpuri languages to mislead the police investigation. After the loot, they were trying to go back to Calcutta to dispose of the booty,” he said.

“Today being a holiday, Bengal’s crime branch could not be contacted. We are investigating whether they were also involved in robbery in other districts. The police are interrogating the house owner, Md Sonu.”

“The conditions of the policemen, who were injured in the bomb explosion, are stable,” Kanodia said.