Bhubaneswar, July 9: Police today arrested two members of a gang, which used to steal money and valuables from people after diverting their attention by dropping currency notes before them, from near Master Canteen Square.

The accused, D. Kirti, 39, and K. Murthy, 29, are natives of Trichy in Tamil Nadu.

The police have seized a stolen motorcycle and a few ATM cards from the accused.

A senior official said the duo were involved in at least six cases of theft that had taken place in the past three months. The gang used to divert people's attention by dropping currency notes and tell them that they had dropped money by mistake.

Three members of the gang used to act together and rob people, who are generally well off and travel in cars, of their cash and other valuables.

While one would drop notes and try to draw the attention of the car driver, another one would stand on the opposite side of the car. The third person would wait on a motorcycle near the junction for the other duo to get back to him after committing the crime.

When the driver would come out to respond to the call of the first person and help him find his dropped notes, the second person, at the same time, would open the back door of the car and steal valuables from there.

In January, the police had arrested another man, identified as Senthil Kumar of Tamil Nadu, in a similar case of theft and later yet another person called V. Santosh, who also hailed from Tamil Nadu.

"When we had interrogated them, they had told us that an organised gang from Tamil Nadu was operating in the city. Since we have been keeping tabs on such criminals, we had specific inputs about them operating at Master Canteen. We laid a trap and deployed our men in civil dress. We kept a bag in the car and parked it near Master Canteen Square. We were able to catch the criminals red handed today," said deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi.

Further investigation revealed that transaction to the tune of Rs 1.25 lakh had been done through one of the ATMs.

"Since we had started raiding hotels and lodges, the gang member started sleeping on the platforms of Bhubaneswar railway station. Once they succeeded in stealing cash, they used to transfer it through ATM," said inspector in charge of Kharavela Nagar police station Sanjiv Satpathy.