The State Crime Branch’s Special Task Force (STF) arrested a notorious criminal from Saheed Nagar here on Wednesday for his alleged involvement in a series of crimes in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
The accused, identified as Prasant Das alias Tapu of Kandarpur in Cuttack district, was involved in various tender fixing and extortion cases.
Acting on reliable inputs about the presence of Tapu in Sahid Nagar, the STF swooped down on his hideout and nabbed him. A mouser and cash of Rs 5 lakh were seized from his possession. Sources said Tapu and his associates became active after the arrest of the Dhalasamanta brothers.
Though officials were trying to arrest Tapu since long, he had managed to elude the police dragnet.
The accused has been taken into custody. Many criminal cases are pending against him in various police stations in the twin cities, police said.