In a significant achievement, an inter-State mobile tower battery looter gang was busted by a special squad of police on Monday and the gang’s mastermind Nrushingh Mallick (21) and eight other gang members were nabbed.
Police seized a Scorpio, a Bolero and an auto rickshaw, 100 kg battery chemical, 47 batteries from the gang’s possession.
Earlier, at the directions of Puri district SP Sarthak Sarangi, a special squad was formed under the Pipili SDPO Dillip Tripathy and Pipili PS IIC Sarat Kumar Sahoo and Balanga OIC Susanta Kumar Sahoo.
Two months ago the gang looted a mobile tower battery in Balanga area following which a case was registered by the Balanga police. While investigating into the case Balanga OIC Sahoo detained an auto rickshaw driver who transported the stolen batteries from different places. As per confession of the driver, police arrested the kingpin of the racket Nrushingh Mallick of Taraboisasan under the Balanga PS.
Subsequently, based on the information provided by him police raided Balipatana, Nimapara , Pipili, Delang, Kanas and arrested Prasant Swain, Nilamani Kasta, Santosh Mallick, Susanta Mallick, Bijay Kumar Nath Sharma, and Upendra Nath for allegedly being involved in the racket.
During the probe, the police team ascertained that the gang regularly looted mobile tower batteries in Delang, Balanga, Kanas, and Pipili police station areas and transported the stolen batteries to Kolkata through one MD Anwar of Malgodown in Cuttack. The special squad would leave Kolkata for investigation very soon.