The local police busted a bank robbers’ gang along and arrested eight miscreants, including the mastermind. Cash and gold ornaments were recovered from them, informed Puri SP Sarthak Sarangi on Wednesday.
On the July 31, six bike borne miscreants had robbed the Kaushalyagang branch of Andhra bank in broad daylight at gun point. They had overpowered the lone security guard, cornered the customers, snapped bank alarm cable, destroyed the CCTV and escaped with over Rs 17 lakh cash and the CCTV hard disc.
The police tracked the mobile phones of all present in the bank at the time of robbery and found the mobile phone of a criminal. By trailing the mobile phone, police nabbed the main accused, SK Azam (23), of Palasahi village under the Baliapatana police limits and recovered over Rs 2 lakh cash from him. Other accused later nabbed were identified as Riaz Khan of Dangohiri under the Pipili police limits, Sukanta Bhoi of Rench, Nimapara, Saubhagya Jena of Harishpur under Nimapara police limits, Ranjit Kumar Raj of Palasahi, Jaina Behera of Nadhiali Sahi under Pipili police limits, Jagamohan Das of Rench and Susanata Kumar Das of Panichhatra under the Kakatpur police limits.
Sarangi said in the wake of the robbery, a special police team had been constituted comprising senior police officials. The team recovered over Rs 6 lakh cash, gold ornaments worth Rs 70,000, nine mobile phones, besides 11 unused country made bombs.
The accused persons were forwarded to the Court of JMFC, Nimapara which remanded them in jail custody. The police are likely to take them on remand. Kingpin Azam was earlier named in a robbery in Nimapara, but he was let off on anticipatory bail by the Odisha High Court.
The police believe that more information on earlier several robberies could be cracked after due interrogation of Azam.