Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police Thursday claimed to have arrested two members of an interstate burglar gang involved in several house-breaking cases in the Capital City. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Prateek Singh said Dinesh Kumar Saha from Gujarat and Pawan Kumar from Haryana were nabbed by Nayapalli police based on intelligence inputs provided by states where the gang had committed over 20 offences. He said three more members of the gang are still at large.
Following the arrest of the duo, the police seized Rs 2.15 lakh cash and a white Hyundai Aura, which was allegedly involved in looting a flat in Nayapalli police limits. Singh said a complaint was lodged at Nayapalli police station December 23 last year by Anusha Mohanty alleging some unidentified miscreants broke into her house – flat no. 105 in B-block of Nirupama Apartments – while she was away. The burglars had allegedly gained entry into the flat by breaking open the door, and looted cash and other valuables worth around Rs 13 lakh which were kept in an almirah. The DCP said the members of the gang, totaling 20, have been listed as most wanted criminals by police in seven states, including Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. In the past, several members of the gang were nabbed in Gujarat in connection with a similar house-breaking case, he added. Giving details on the modus operandi of the gang, DCP Singh said the miscreants would travel to different states in used cars with fake license plates, and avoid staying at a place for long to evade police glare.
During their stay, they would scout for apartments/homes with a minimal security presence, single-door locking system, or those situated in desolate places before striking.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the gang members have expertise in breaking doors with minimal noise, and emptying an entire flat within 10 minutes. They would split into smaller groups of five each to carry out simultaneous robberies at a given time. While committing a burglary, two of them would break into the house while the others would wait in a car with its engine running. They would finish the task and swiftly escape in the vehicle before anyone learned about the burglary, an officer from Nayapalli police station said. The arrested duo was booked under Sections 110 CrPC and 454, 380 of IPC and later produced before a local court for remand.
DEBADURLLAV HARICHANDAN, OP