Bhubaneswar, Dec. 1: Police today arrested 10 members, including four women from Bengal and Bihar, of a gang for robbing people on the pretext of providing escort service.

The gang's female members used to ask people for lift and then rob them by threatening to lodge cases of misbehaviour and molestation.

The police have also seized Rs 47,000 in cash, two Indigo cars, one Ford Figo car, gold weighing around 20 grams, two motorcycles and 12 mobile phones from the accused. The male members of the gang has been identified as Ranjan Naik, 39, Jibanendu Das, 32, Biswa Ranjan Das, 28, Brahmananda Padhi, 32, Sibananda Das, 25, Prassanjit Mohanty, 22. The police said all female members of the gang were in their twenties. While three of them belonged to Bengal, another one hailed from Bihar.

The police also said the gang leader, Brahamananda, had earlier been to jail seven times. The gang had been active in the city for the past six months.

The police said the gang members used to target people by using social networking sites and sending messages on their cell phones. "The girl members used to befriend the victims through social networking websites and later lure them to the city to spend time with them. They also sent them messages claiming that they were single and wanted to date," said a police official.

The gang was nabbed on the basis of a complaint filed by a Kalahandi-based businessman, who was robbed of cash worth Rs 51,000 and other valuables yesterday after being lured by one of the women. "After the businessman landed in the city, the gang members forcefully took him to Naharkanta on the city outskirts and later robbed him of his money and other valuables by threatening him to lodge a case of molestation," said a police official.

The police also suspected the gang's involvement in a robbery case, in which a bank manager was allegedly robbed of Rs 88,000 and other valuables after he had decided to give a lift to two persons, including a woman, near Fire Station Square on Sunday evening.

"Further investigation is on to ascertain the antecedents of the accused. Besides, we are also investigating to find out the number of cases, in which the gang members are involved," said police commissioner R.P. Sharma.

In May 2013, the police had busted a gang, which was involved in a number of car thefts in the city. The gang was led by a con woman, Rajlaxmi Swain, 22, who used to introduce herself as a software professional and claimed that she was working at the Fortune Tower where many government and corporate offices are located. She used to hire vehicles and asking the drivers to buy sweets for her and later drive away the vehicles.