Paradip: Police on Thursday arrested two robbers and busted a gang involved in a series of highway robberies.

The arrested duo, Narayan Mallick, 22, and Rakesh Das, 21, on Wednesday noon robbed a field executive of a private finance company of Rs 98,000 in Erarsama police limits.

Though the local residents chased the motorcycle-borne criminals, the police nabbed them within an hour after the crime.

Mallick and Das are history-sheeters. At least nine robbery cases are pending against them in Erasama, Balikuda and Macheswar police station jurisdictions, said Jagatsinghur superintendent of police Prakash R.

The complainant, Deba Ranjan Mohapatra, a native of Muktapur in Khurda district, was returning from Gadaharispur to Matha Sahi on a bike when the criminals intercepted him at gunpoint and snatched the bag containing Rs 98,132 cash near Saharabedi Chowk.

A country-made pistol, two cartridges and the motorbike used by them for the crime were also seized.

The arrested duo, who were later remanded in judicial custody, used to commit mainly the highway robberies by snatching cash and mobile phones from the targeted victims.

They used to frequent bank branches to keep tabs on customers drawing large amount of cash.

They often robbed those who travelled alone. A number of businessmen, private company employees, who often carried cash, were also robbed by them.