Berhampur: Paralakhemundi police in Gajapati district busted an inter-state robbery gang, which targeted bank customers, with the arrest of two of its members, who hail from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, following a Rs 5 lakh loot on Saturday. The cash amount and documents like a bank passbook, which they snatched from a person in Paralakhemundi on Saturday, were recovered from their possession, police said on Sunday.Arrested Petla Devadhanam (40) and Goddeti Salman (54), who hail from Kapparallathippa village in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh’s Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district, have been involved in at least 11 robbery cases in different districts of Odisha, including Bolangir, Kalahandi, Ganjam, Berhampur, besides in their home state in the last one year, police added.Prasant Bhupati, inspector in charge of Paralakhemundi police station, said a case was registered after four motorbike-borne people snatched the cash, kept in a bag after withdrawal from a bank, from a person. The person had hanged the bag from the handle of his motorcycle. One of the accused allegedly scattered currency notes near the motorcycle to distract him. Taking advantage of the situation, another accused stanched the cash bag and fled from the spot.“After registering a case, we immediately launched an investigation by verifying footage of the CCTV cameras of the bank. The images were circulated to other police stations, informing them about the incident. Garabandh police intercepted one of the motorcycles used by the accused at a checkpoint, while two others managed to flee,” Bhupati said, adding the case was solved within two hours, with the entire amount recovered from them.He said efforts are on to nab the other accused.Police said during interrogation they disclosed that they, along with the other two of their associates, had come from Andhra Pradesh to Paralakhemundi with a pre-planned intention to target bank customers carrying large amounts of cash. Further inquiry was going on to establish their involvement in other robbery cases in the state and neighboring states, said Bhupati.
