Keonjhar: Police have arrested five persons of an inter-state racket involved in smuggling of manganese ore to Jharkhand.

The arrested are identified as Mohammad Firoz, 31, Mohammad Irfan, 28, and Babulu Lohar, 30, from Barbil, Mohammad Salim Akhtar, 29, from Jharkhand and Gajanan Sindhe, 34, from Maharashtra. They were booked under the Indian Penal Code sections 379, 411, 120 (b) and Section 21 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act besides the sections 27 and 56 of the Odisha Forest Act.

An ore-laden truck and a car have also been seized from them, said Rugudi police station inspector Srikanta Sahu.

The seized consignment of manganese weighed at 20 metric tonnes and was valued at Rs 7 lakh.

Akhtar and Sindhe were the kingpin of the racket. They operated the gang by smuggling the stolen ores to Jharkhand-based industrial units. Akhtar is a history-sheeter and wanted in nine criminal cases.

The arrested gang members were active in stealing manganese ores from the Sidhamata Reserve Forest in Rugudi police limits. They used to illegally unearth manganese ore from the forest areas. The arrest was made following specific inputs from the forest-side villagers regarding the illegal activity in the forested areas.

As the state government is losing crores of rupees in terms of royalty because of manganese smuggling, the police have launched a drive in nabbing the smugglers. In November last, the police had arrested five persons and made a seizure of 15 metric tonnes of smuggled manganese. In a similar raid in October, 9 metric tonnes of smuggled ores were seized and two persons were arrested, the police said.

ATM loot

Goons broke open the chest of an ATM counter of a nationalised bank and decamped with the cash. The incident occurred at DRDA Chowk in Phulbani Township during midnight. The criminal probably used gas cutter machine, police said. The exact amount of cash burgled is yet to be ascertained. A scientific team has been pressed into service to expedite the investigation.