A notorious gang of burglars have committed a series of burglaries along the Puri-Nirakarpur highway from temples, shops and other business outlets.
Among the major incidents are the loots of Gopinathadeb Temple of Pratap Ramchandrapur and Hanuman Temple of Alisa village on December 22. Jewelleries and valuable worth Rs 13 lakh were stolen from bothe the religious shrines.
But police are still clueless about the gang and are yet to solve any of the crimes. The locals have blamed lax night patrolling by police for the surge in the incidents on the road that connects National Highway 5 and NH 203.
Under pressure, the police have taken three suspects of Panchua village of Nirakarpur into custody but are yet to reveal whether they were involved in the crimes. Besides, none of the looted valuables or goods are yet to be seized. Besides, the series of burglaries from temples and shops, the miscreants have targeted the houses along the highway and stole livestocks.
This has triggered deep resentment among the villagers, who have alleged that after dusk the areas along the road have become totally unsafe and the cops failure to nab the culprits has led to concerns about their safety of their life and property. The hand of an inter-district gang was suspected behind the incidents.
