Jagatsinghpur: Police on Saturday busted a gang of robbers that used to loot people on the highway by sprinkling chilli powder in their eyes.

Two of the "mirchi" gang members were arrested for robbing the staff member private finance company on Wednesday.

The accused - Madhusudan Das, 36, and Tulu Paramanik, 28 - intercepted Manoranjan Sahu near Atamala chowk on the Alipingal-Jagatsinghpur Road and threw chilli powder in his eyes. Sahu and a pillion rider were injured following chilli power sprinkling act by the criminals. Sahu lost balance and skidded off the road.

As he writhed in pain, the duo snatched his bag that contained Rs 1.39 lakh in cash and sped away on their motorcycle, said Jagatsinghpur police station inspector Rajanikant Mishra.

The goons had also stolen a laptop and a biometric scanner from the victim.

Mishra said the police recovered Rs 42,000 in cash from them. The duo has also confessed to the crime.

Both Das and Pramanik have a criminal record. Das is also facing trial in a murder case.

Several similar robberies have taken place in the district in the past few months and the cops will seek the duo on remand ton investigate their role in those.