Bhubaneswar, July 24: Five goons were arrested last night from Jharapara while they were planning a robbery in the area.
The police have seized a country-made pistol, one bullet, two swords and two iron rods from the accused.
The goons have been identified as Anil Kumar Nayak alias Tutu, 30, Jitendra Swain alias Jitu, 24, and Mithun Mohanty, 32, all from Aska in Ganjam district, Lingaraj Patra alias Kuna, 27, of Baunsuni in Boudh and Sarat Chandra Mohanty, 38, from Khandagiri area in the city.
The police said that Mithun has several cases pending against him at Aska police station in Ganjam district. “Antecedents of the accused are being investigated,” said Pravash Chandra Pal, inspector in-charge of Laxmisagar police station.
However, local residents alleged that poor night patrolling by the police had led to the rise in crime such as snatching and burglary in the area. Statistics revealed that about 270 cases were registered in the year 2012, which increased to 346 in 2013. Similarly, 145 cases have been registered till June this year.
“Our area has become crime prone due to sale of illegal liquor during in late night. Besides, irregular night patrolling has led to a number of burglaries and dacoities in the area,” said Sankar Pradhan, a local resident. A group of masked robbers allegedly broke into the house of a senior citizen and took away gold ornaments worth around Rs 4 lakh in Niladri Vihar within Chandrasekharpur police limits in the early hours on Thursday.
Owner of the house, identified as Anupam Agarwal, a businessman alleged that around six masked goons entered their house by breaking the glass of a window. They barged into their bedroom while the couple was sleeping. Later, the goons threatened the couple with sharp-edged weapons and managed to get the key of almirah and took away gold ornaments worth Rs 4 lakh. Police have started an investigation after getting a complaint from Agarwal.