Cuttack, Feb. 5: Police today claimed that gangster brothers Sushant and Sushil Dhal Samant were collecting more than Rs 3.5 crore a year through their wide extortion network in the city.

The amount of their extorted sum could actually be more as preliminary investigation reports indicate that the two were receiving between 3 per cent and 10 per cent of "cut-money" for major contracts. At least 20 top contractors of the city used to make regular payments to them.

"The percentage depended on the amount of tender or construction undertaken by respective contractors in various parts in the city and outside," said a senior police officer.

Not only contractors, several other businessmen, leading showroom owners and even hospitals and nursing homes, were paying the gangster brothers on monthly, quarterly or yearly basis, he said.

"Three close associates were running the show on behalf of the Dhal Samant brothers and were engaged in collecting money from the contractors and other businessmen in the city," he added.

It was revealed during investigation that the duo had invested more than Rs 90 crore in a sponge iron unit in Jharsuguda.

All the details of money collected through extortion were accurately entered and maintained in a diary that has been seized by the police during the raid on the brothers' residence at CDA Sector-6. Vital information regarding their role in awarding few contracts of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) to their close associates and contractors also surfaced during their interrogation here on Friday.

The police today found a photograph and driving licence suspected to be that of missing Dipu Mallick, 26, from the Visakhapatnam hideout of the brothers. The seizure of photograph and driving licence is likely to provide evidence to carry out further investigation in connection with the alleged murder of Mallick, another senior police officer told The Telegraph. Mallick, who used to work for the Dhal Samants, had gone missing in 2013.

"We have seized a few documents, including a photograph. Once the articles are brought to Cuttack, we can share more details on the entire incident," said police commissioner Y.B. Khurania.

A special police team from Cuttack found the photograph and driving licence from a flat that had functioned as a hideout for the 47-year-old Sushant for the past three years.

A double-barrelled gun, 35 rounds of bullets, a computer, some CDs, agreement documents and other vital documents were also seized from the flat during a massive search operation today.

Though police had traced the hideout of the Dhal Samant brothers two days ago, the cops had failed to conduct a search operation due to lack of a search warrant as demanded by the Andhra Pradesh police.