Acting on a tip off, a team of the Balangir police conducted raids at different places and arrested nine dacoits who had committed robberies in Bandhpada village on May 24 and in Kudasingha village on June 13 under the Tusura Police station.
They had decamped with cash, gold ornaments and mobile phones after terrorising family members with county-made guns and sharp weapons.
SP K Siva Subramani informed this at a Press conference here on Thursday afternoon. The modus operandi of the dacoity gang was to destroy the CCTV cameras and hard disks and other survillence mechanism.
A special squad team comprising DSP Prashant Pattnaik, Tusura PS OIC Panchanan Naik and others nabbed the culprits. The arrested are Sourav, Mohana Meher, lingaraj Meher, Chhotu, Shiva Bariha, Sukant Jena, Goura, Indramani Sahu and Panchanan Biswal. Police seized melted gold of 25.3 gram, 36 gram gold ornaments, various weapons, mobiles, half burnt hard disks and two vans used in the dacoity, said the SP.
Besides, three receivers of stolen gold ornaments were also arrested.
The dacoits were also involved in a dacoity committed under the Paikmal police station in Bargarh district.