Drug-&-loot gang busted in Odisha capital; woman among 4 held

Bhubaneswar: The police claimed to have busted a drug-and-loot gang by arresting four persons, including a woman, in Odisha capital here today.

The arrested have been identified as Ashok Behera (33) alias Landa of Gandhinagar in Ganjam, Purnachandra Sethi (33) of Itamati area in Nayagarh, Sushanta Rout (34) of Odagaon in Nayagarh and Muskan alias Sarifa Khatun (22) of Unit-III area in the capital city here.

Tow bikes, one knife, cold drinks and four strips of Lorazepam tablets were seized from the arrested persons, police said.

A team of the Kharvelnagar police arrested the gang members from Master Canteen area of the city in the wee hours of today. The accused were hatching a plot to rob passengers of their valuables near Bhubaneswar Railway Station, police added.

“The woman member of the gang usually seduces the passengers and offers them spiked food or drinks. The gang members rob the passengers of their money and valuables once they lost their consciousness,” said a police officer while divulging details regarding the modus operandi of the gang.

The arrested gang members have confessed that they were planning to rob some passengers of their valuables in the wee hours of today. The accused persons were earlier involved in several cases of crime in the capital city, police said.

The gang members were targeting youths and personnel of armed forces who are on leave upon their arrival at the city railway station, they added.