Balasore: Police on Saturday arrested five criminals and recovered an SUV, which the goons forcibly took away from a shrimp trader on Thursday night.

The accused, Ganesh Kisku, Radu Hembram, Kala Tudu, Asit Kamila and Rabindra Majhi, all residents of Chunbhatti and Darjipokhari village, looted the vehicle from Bardhanpur villager Rajkishor Panda.

The accused are produced in court after being booked under IPC sections pertaining to dacoity. The judge sent them to jail.

Sources said Panda was heading for Digha with his family in his car when the accused intercepted them near Golapolo and demanded money. Panda told them he would give them money near a petrol pump. When he paid them Rs 3,000, they demanded more. On refusal, they beat him up and took away his car. The petrol pump owner informed the police.

Sahadevkhunta and Town police then arrested the accused and located the stolen vehicle abandoned near Chunabhatti.

Town police station inspector-in-charge Sarojini Nayak said the accused were involved in more crimes and used to targeted bikers on the highways.

In another development, Bangalore police, with the help of their Bhadrak counterparts, recovered stolen property worth of around Rs 10 lakh, including Rs 1 lakh in cash, from possession of the accused, Nuagaon villager Biswajit Malik, 21. He was arrested.

Basudevpur police station inspector-in-charge Umashankar Nayak said the accused person was working in the house of a person in Bangalore.

"Ornaments and articles worth of Rs 9 lakh and Rs 1 lakh in cash were seized from him. The accused Malik has been taken to Bangalore after production in local court," said Nayak.