Bhubaneswar, July 14: Police on Saturday arrested three goons involved in a number of loot and snatching cases in the city, including robbery from newlyweds at Acharya Vihar.
The police chased the goons and arrested them from Damana Square.
The police have seized a country-made pistol, one round of bullets, gold ornaments of around 50 gram, Rs 30,000 in cash and two motorcycles from the accused.
Police sources said the trio were involved in robbery of two petrol pumps at Gangapada and Paniora on the same day last week.
They had looted 200 gram gold ornaments at gunpoint from a just-married couple at Acharya Vihar on June 4. They were also involved in another robbery of a wedding party in Gangapada last month.
The accused were identified as Rakesh Kumar Rout, Subrat Kumar Bhatta and Samir Kumar Mallik, who are in the age group of 24 to 26. Police sources said all of them had a separate gangs of three to four members and were involved in a series of loot cases in Paradip, Salipur, Cuttack and Nischintakoili.
“Both Rakesh and Bhatta are seasoned criminals and both of them have around 40 different cases of loot and snatching against them,” said a senior police official of Chandrasekharpur police station. He also said Bhatta had fled from Balianta police station two years ago.
“They used to strike randomly. The used to loot their victims at gunpoint and flee on their motorcycles. All of them are illiterate and one of them used to run a garage. Rout’s father had also been convicted in a murder case two years ago,” said a police official.
Police sources said the victim couple and the employees of the petrol pump identified the criminals.
The growing number of incidents of loot and snatching has become a major cause of concern for the city police. The cops, however, claim that the number of such cases is not high.
“The police should not take credit for the arrests. Instead, they should identify other snatchers who are active in the city. Night patrolling should also be intensified to curb such incidents,” said Bhagbat Rath, a lawyer.
