The Commissionerate Police arrested three hardcore criminals involved in four high profile loot cases, including snatching of jewellery from a bride at Acharya Vihar and loot in Gangapada petrol pump in the city, said police on Sunday.
The miscreants were identified as Rakesh Kumar Rout and Subrat Kumar Bhatta from Barang area in Cuttack district and Samir Kumar Mallick from Mancheswar area in the city. Out of the three, Rout and Bhatta were involved in the petrol pump robbery at Gangapada and Paniora recently and loot of bride parties at Acharya Vihar on May 21 last, police sources said. On a tipoff, a police team chased the three and arrested them from Damana square on Saturday. Police seized a country-made pistol with live ammunition, gold ornaments weighing about 50gm, `30,000 cash and two Bajaj Pulsar bikes from the possession of Rout and Bhatta. Mallick was involved in a series of snatching cases of gold ornaments mostly within the Saheednagar police station limits. One TVS Apache motorcycle was used during the petrol pump robbery had been earlier seized by the police. The trio was involved in around 40 cases, informed police sources.