Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police on Wednesday arrested five members of an armed robbery gang for allegedly looting a person at gunpoint at Dhauli, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. The arrested include the two alleged masterminds — Suryakant Jena and Gobinda Mallik – and their three associates. Two motorcycles and nine mobile phones were seized from them.
According to sources, the incident took place May 11. The victim, a cook, was returning home when an armed gang intercepted him on the NH near Dhauli around 11.30 pm. The robbers allegedly snatched his mobile phone and Rs 4,500 in cash before holding him at gunpoint and forcing him to transfer Rs 63,000 via UPI to a linked bank account. The gang then fled the scene.
Following the incident, the victim filed a zero FIR complaint at Badagada police station. Dhauli police took up the investigation and used digital footprints — particularly the UPI transaction details and associated location data — to track and nab the suspects.
Further investigation is underway to ascertain whether the robbers targeted more victims in a similar way.