Cuttack, May 1: Police today claimed to have foiled a robbery bid at a petrol pump in Choudwar, after apprehending four members of a criminal gang.

The gang was busted after a team of the Choudwar police, acting on a tip-off, raided an isolated spot near Bodhi field last night.

A pistol, two rounds of live bullets, two country-made bombs and other explosive items were sized from their possession.

The police said the five criminals assembled near Bodhi field when the place was raided at around 9pm last night. Four of them were nabbed from the spot while one managed to escape.

"The gang was planning to rob Kargil petrol pump at Choudwar. We suspect the involvement of the gang in a few other robberies in Choudwar and nearby areas," said Trinath Mishra, the assistant commissioner of police.

The accused have been identified as Chitaranjan Mallick, 26, of Kendrapara, Kuna Sahu, 27, and Badal Mallick, 36, of Mahanga and Binod Mallick, 28, of Jagatsinghpur district.

Preliminary investigation revealed the criminals had assembled at Bodhi field and were making crude bombs when cops raided the spot.

Two bundles of jute threads, 200 grams of gunpowder, iron nails, chips, two sharp weapons, two motorcycles have also been recovered from the three.

Mishra said Badal was a seasoned criminal and was involved in many robbery cases in Cuttack district alone and more than nine criminal cases were pending against him at various police stations.

A police source said the criminal antecedents of the other members of the gang were being verified while a manhunt had been launched to nab Jagannath Samal, who is still at large.

Earlier, the police had busted a gang of inter-state robbers and recovered 48 gram of gold ornaments and other electronic gadgets worth over Rs 7 lakh on February 15.

The gang from Bengal was involved in at least 11 house burglary incidents, particularly in the satellite township of Markatnagar, developed by the Cuttack Development Authority in 2015.