Rourkela: Police on Tuesday busted a gang of dacoits following the arrest of four persons.

Four others, however, managed to escape when the police conducted raids on a desolate house near Sorda.

Bisra police identified the arrested persons as Madan Manjhi alias Turi, 42, Md Majoor alias Sukhlal, 32, Rajesh Lakhua, 24, and Md Safayat Hussein, 52. Their target was to loot a businessman, whose identity the police did not divulge. All the accused belonged to Jharkhand.

DSP P.K. Mishra said: "Bisra police station inspector-in-charge Bikash Ranjan Swain had received information about movements of the gang. Acting on the tip-off, the police raided a desolate house, where eight members of the gang were planning to commit the robbery. Four of them fled, while we could overpower four."

He said: "The police have seized two country-made pistols, two live rounds and Rs 1.27 lakh in cash and a vehicle."

He could not, however, clarify whether the gang members had any links with the People's Liberation Front of India. "They had tried to terrorise certain people and were trying to extort money from them. But, this was for the first time they were in Odisha. We have information that they had committed crimes at Bano and other areas of Jharkhand."

Additional director-general of police (crime) S.K. Upadhyay had visited the city and held a high-level meeting with police officials regarding crime control. He had stressed on patrol for effective control of crime, which was immediately implemented by the district police.