Balasore, Aug. 23: Bengal police, with the help of its local counterparts, recovered stolen cash worth Rs 1.1 crore and arrested two persons this morning.

The duo have been identified as Nabkishor Rout, a resident of village Ruso in Soro police limits, and Saroj Giri of village Barangia in Khaira police limits, both in Balasore district. The accused were nabbed and cash seized following raids at their houses here. However, another accused, Bijay Giri, is still at large.

The accused, both in their mid-20s, were taken into custody by the Bengal police after obtaining transit remand from a local court.

The duo had allegedly stolen the cash from the house of Santosh Kumar Poddar, a jeweller at Hanspukhur village in Posta police limits. Poddar is from Burra Bazaar in Calcutta.

The police said the cash was kept at his home as it was a Sunday and was supposed to be deposited in the bank the next day. The cash was kept in a trolley bag on the fourth floor of the Poddar's house.

The thieves allegedly first dropped the trolley bag from the fourth floor to the ground and then fled with it. The matter was reported to the local police station after the bag was found missing.

According to the inspector in charge of Soro police station Parsuram Sahoo, Saroj and Bijay were employed in the jewellery shop. They had hatched a conspiracy with Nabakishor Rout, who was working in another shop there.

After reaching Balasore, they handed over the bag to Nabakishor, who kept the bag in his sister's house without informing her about its contents.

The joint police team first caught Nabakishor, who gave the information about the two other involved in the crime.

"The police seized the bag from Nabakishor's sister's house at village Raipitambar in Soro police limits. Subsequently, the cops nabbed Saroj from his residence," said Sahoo.

A case has been registered in Posta police station under section 381 (theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of the master) of the Indina Penal Code, said police.

In a related incident, Bhadrak police arrested a 25-year-old man for stealing Rs 8.7 lakh in cash from a bike showroom in the town. The accused, identified as Satyajit Rout, was employed in the two-wheeler showroom as a mechanic. The police recovered the entire stolen amount from his possession. Rout was sent to jail after a local court rejected his bail plea.