Rourkela: Three Notorious Criminals Injured in Police Encounter

Rourkela: The Rourkela Police arrested eight members of an inter-state dacoit gang after two encounters in the Bonai region in the early hours of Sunday. Three of the accused, including alleged gang leader Chanda Nayak alias Chande, sustained injuries in the exchange of fire and were taken to Rourkela Government Hospital for treatment.

Police had been investigating four major dacoity cases reported between September and November across K. Balang, Koida, Lahunipada and Barsuan areas. During the probe, officers suspected the involvement of the Chande gang, led by Chanda Nayak, and his associate Rajesh Singh. Police teams were placed under technical and manual surveillance to track their movement.

Acting on intelligence, all police stations under the Bonai subdivision set up checkpoints late Saturday night. Around 4 am, a Scorpio SUV and two motorcycles approaching Koida allegedly turned back on seeing a police Naka. A joint team from K Balang and Koida chased the vehicles and signalled them to stop. According to police, the suspects opened fire. The cops retaliated, injuring gang member Paras Ram, while others fled towards Chandiposh.

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A second face-off took place near Kucheita village, where police teams from Chandiposh and Gurundia intercepted the fleeing group. Police said the accused again fired at them. Officers retaliated, injuring gang leader Chanda Nayak and Rajesh Singh before arresting five others who attempted to escape.

Arms seized

Police seized a white Scorpio SUV, two motorcycles, two country-made pistols, a revolver, eight rounds of live ammunition and cash amounting to Rs 76,150 from the gang. All eight accused are residents of Jharkhand and Odisha, many with previous criminal records linked to dacoity, arms offences and other serious charges pending across multiple police stations.

The operation involved teams from the Bonai SDPO office, police stations in K Balang, Koida, Lahunipada, Chandiposh and Gurundia, along with the Rourkela Cyber Cell. Further investigations are underway, and police said additional cases connected to the gang are being verified.