Bhubaneswar: City police on Thursday busted a snatchers’ gang allegedly being operated by a youth who lost his right palm in a bomb explosion around six months ago. Police identified the gang leader as Arun Kumar Sahoo (25), who was arrested along with three of his associates. A 17-year-old member of the gang has also been detained.Police had been tracking the gang, which allegedly targeted morning walkers, mostly women, in Pahala, Balianta, Chandrasekharpur and Macheswar areas of Bhubaneswar, besides Sadar area of neighbouring Cuttack city. Sahoo lost his right palm while allegedly preparing bombs, police said.After losing his palm, Sahoo allegedly recruited and engaged other youths to carry out snatching while he continued to supervise the operations.He had previously been involved in at least 25 robbery and dacoity cases registered in Bhubaneswar during 2021 and 2022, according to police.“He was supervising the gang’s activities even after losing his right palm. We have arrested his associates — Dipak Bhanj (21), Mila alias Kisan Bhoi (20) and Gedu alias Swayamsu Samal (21), besides detaining a 17-year-old. Preliminary investigation has revealed their involvement in at least 12 recent snatching cases reported from different parts of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack,” police commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said.Police recovered stolen gold ornaments worth around Rs 12 lakh, five motorcycles and mobile phones each from the accused. Investigators suspect that the gang had been using different motorcycles to evade detection while carrying out snatchings during the early hours.According to police, the gang members would identify morning walkers wearing gold ornaments and allegedly target them while riding motorcycles. After the snatchings, the stolen ornaments were handed over to Sahoo and Samal, who allegedly acted as receivers and helped dispose of the stolen property.Police said the proceeds from the crimes were also used to fund the accused’s lifestyle. One of the gang members allegedly purchased a sports bike costing around Rs 2 lakh by paying cash from the money earned through the illicit means.Police said further investigation was underway to ascertain whether the gang had links with other snatchers or receivers operating in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, and to trace the disposal of valuables stolen in earlier offences. “We expect the arrest of the gang members and the recovery of the stolen property to help bring down snatching incidents in the city,” Singh said.
