Cuttack, June 7: Orissa High Court has expressed grave concern as it felt that "a group of mafias are operating in full swing and flourishing in an organised manner" in the city.

"People are scared to raise their timid voice against such unholy combinations. They start compromising themselves with dadagiri (rowdyism by local goons and heavyweights). They are compelled to accept the situation that things will not change for them towards better and that they will have to change themselves to accept the state of affairs as it is. They find some white-collared criminals occupying very important posts in the society, spreading tentacles of their misdeeds," the court observed last Friday.

The court made this observation while taking note of "the underlying tone" that was revealed from the case records while considering the bail plea of an associate of the gangster siblings - Sushant and Sushil Dhal Samant.

The vacation bench of Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo warned: "Delay in taking appropriate legal action against the perpetrators of the crime results in people losing faith in the system. It is only when the law enforcing agency with all strong determination decide to smash the devilish activities of the criminals, people in general feel a sigh of relief and start dreaming of a better future."

Siba Prasad Gochi, who was the secretary of the Cuttack Truck Owners' Association, the vice-president of the Sikharpur-Gandarpur-Mahanadi Vihar Puja Committee and also the president of the Gandarpur Sahi Committee, was taken into custody on March 10, 2016.

He moved the high court after the Court of Sessions Judge, Cuttack, rejected his bail pleas.