Cuttack: In a major crackdown, the Commissionerate Police seized 11 illegal firearms and 51 rounds of live bullets in Cuttack. Police have arrested four persons in this connection, Twin City Police Commissioner Saumendra Priyadarshi informed Wednesday.
Lots of illegal firearms have been seized since the arrest of hardcore criminal Dhalasamant brothers. It was found during investigation that Tukuna Swain from Talcher area in Angul is the mastermind of the illegal firearms trade, Priyadarshi said while briefing media persons.
According to a senior police official, Tukuna was arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Crime Branch and brought on remand by Cuttack Police for the ongoing probe of a firearms case.
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The police seized eight firearms from Tukuna’s possession, following the investigation. Acting on information provided by the mastermind, police arrested his three other accomplices.
The aides of Tukuna have been identified as Santosh Rout, Lipu alias Jyoti Ranjan Barik and Prashant Rout. As many as 11 illegal firearms and 51 rounds of live bullets were seized from their possession.
Notably, Tukuna is a history-sheeter and has around 18 criminal cases registered against him at different police stations in Angul and Jagatsinghpur districts. Meanwhile, five cases have been registered against Santosh in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar and five cases against Lipu in Cuttack and nine cases against Prashant, the official said.
PNN