Bhubaneswar: Putting an end to the notoriety of a criminal gang that went on a spree of snatching gold chains from morning walkers in and around Bhubaneswar, the Commissionerate Police have arrested three notorious chain snatchers.
According to the Commissionerate Police BBSR UPD successfully nabbed the three-member gang during the investigation of a series of gold chain snatching cases in morning hours by a notorious gang operating from BBSR-Cuttack-Bhadrak–Balasore and wanted for many police districts of the state.
The arrested criminals are Ganesh Purty (41) of Balasore Sadar, and Sankar Das (29) of Jajpur Korei, both presently staying at Akhandalamani Basti in Vani Vihar, and another Sk Niyamat (28) alias Chotu of West Medinipur in West Bengal, presently staying at Unit-3 Masjid Colony, in Bhubaneswar. Four gold chains, three mobile phones, one motorcycle and one airbag with two bill hooks were seized from them during arrest, the police said.
As per police, both Sankar and Ganesh, who happen to be brother-in-law, were forwarded from BBSR UPD in January 2021 in a series of cases and were convicted in a robbery case of Cuttack UPD for seven years. Both of them availed bail from the Orissa High Court on appeal and after walking out of Choudwar Jail in May, all three formed the gang and started chain snatching in the morning hours.
During the verification of criminal antecedents, the police found 29 criminal cases against accused Sankar Das and 39 cases against accused Ganesh Purty at different police stations in Bhubaneswar, while there are three cases against accused Sk Niyamat in Balasore. At present, the accused trio are wanted in five criminal cases.
Modus Operandi
After forming a gang, the three veteran criminals went on a spree of snatching gold chains from morning walkers. The trio used to target women on outings in the wee hour of the morning and also brandished machettes to terrorise them. After snatching the gold chains, they sped away from the scene on a bike.
To mislead the police and avoid being chased, the accused kept changing their location from one city to another after committing a crime. They used to dispose of the stolen property in Kolkata and repeat the same process within a week.