Cuttack: Police on Wednesday cracked a Rs 36 lakh robbery case registered at Madhupatna police station and arrested six persons from Cuttack and Kendrapada districts. The accused were identified as Rahul Kumar alias Sk Hyder (37) of Dewan Bazar in Lalbag, Anand Saha (27) of Dhabaleswar Gada in CDA Phase-II, and Manas Malik (22), Biswajit Behera (22), Bibekananda Senapati (29) and Rajesh Jena (20), all residents of Marshaghai area in Kendrapada district.The robbery took place on July 13 when Rs 36 lakh belonging to a Balubazar-based jewellery trader was looted near the Taladanda canal overbridge on NH-16 around 9.40 pm. According to police, complainant Sanjay Saha, proprietor of a jewellery store, had entrusted employee Gyanaranjan Sahoo and his relative Pinky Gupta with carrying the cash to Kolkata to buy gold ornaments.While the duo were travelling on a scooty towards OMP Square, a group of assailants intercepted them, allegedly attacked Gupta with a metal rod and fled with the cash. ACP Arun Swain said the investigation revealed that Anand Saha, who was previously involved in cash transaction-related business, was aware that Gupta frequently carried large amounts of cash to Kolkata. “Saha allegedly passed information about the cash movement to co-accused Rahmat Ali, following which the gang tracked the victims on motorcycles before executing the robbery,” Swain said.He added that CCTV footage from multiple locations, technical evidence and other corroborative materials helped investigators establish the conspiracy and identify the accused. During interrogation, Rahul Kumar alias Sk Hyder allegedly confessed to his involvement and disclosed that he had received Rs 50,000 from the loot. Police said part of the money was used to buy a mobile phone that has since been seized. Police recovered Rs 1.05 lakh in cash, six mobile phones and a SUV allegedly used in the crime. “Two more accused are absconding. Efforts are underway to arrest them, recover the remaining looted cash and verify the criminal antecedents of everyone involved,” Swain said.
