Bhubaneswar: The twin city Commissionerate Police Friday busted an interstate water pipe robber gang with the arrest of 11 of its members including Alok Bhola. It is worth mentioning Alok alias Tunguru, an auto-rickshaw driver, had created a sensation in the state sometime back after the dramatic details of his relationship with a married woman went viral, leading to his arrest. The accused were identified as Ramesh Chandra Sahu, 52, Sandip Kumar Agrawal, 45, Alok Bhola, 25, SK Rahim, 37, Papu Bhuyan, 21, Srikanta Maharana, 23, Rajkumar Parida, 32, Sudhir Behera, 34, Bhagirathi Nayak, 21, Kartik Chandra Subudhi, 34 and Rasmiranjan Dash, 29.
Addressing the media, City Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Prateek Singh said Rs 20,000 in cash, an auto-rickshaw, a motorcycle and 10 mobile phones have been seized from the possession of the accused. The accused, in the past, have been booked eight times by police in districts such as Kandhamal, Ganjam, Khurda, Cuttack and Ganjam, said the DCP, adding that four members of the gang are still at large.
About the modus operandi, the DCP said the mastermind Sudhir hired associates on a contract basis who were tasked to recce sites where the authorities laid water supply pipes for various projects. Several lorry drivers were also hired on a parttime basis by Sudhir to deliver these pipes to dealers in Raipur, Bhillai and other places. In order to make it appear authentic, he created forged documents of the pipes, Singh added. The accused have been booked under Section 379 of the IPC.
DEBADURLLAV HARICHANDAN, OP