The Commissionerate police on Wednesday arrested five members of the notorious ‘Katuri Gang’ (Chopper Gang) which has spread a reign of terror in the twin cities for the last few months. The arrested criminals were identified as Ganesh Koti, Shankar Das, Jaga, Sushant Guru and Sudam Nayak. The gang was involved in snatching, robberies and loot cases in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, said Commissioner of Police Saumendra Priyadarshi. The gang used to target lonely persons, especially women, during morning walk. They used to attack the morning walkers with daggers, axes and terrorised them before snatching ornaments and other valuables from their possession, Priyadarshi said. After such crimes spiralled, the police had formed a special squad comprising personnel and officers of the Khandagiri and Saheed Nagar police stations.
The squad successfully arrested the criminals.“As many as 19 gold chains weighing around 200 grams, 6.2 kg of silver, cash of Rs 13,600, a Pulsar bike and a dagger which was used in the crimes, were recovered from them,” Priyadarshi informed.
All the accused are involved in around 25 cases registered at different police stations in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.