Sambalpuri saree theft gang busted in Odisha; five held

Sonepur: Odisha police today busted a gang allegedly involved in Sambalpuri saree theft from shops and houses with the arrest of five robbers including a woman and three minor boys.

The arrested persons were accused of stealing the expensive Sambalpuri sarees across Sonepur district.

The cops also seized dozens of Sambalpuri sarees worth around Rs 3.50 lakh from the possession of accused persons.

According to reports, the robbers posing as the customers were targetting the small shops and houses for looting Sambalpuri sarees including ‘patta’ of various designs and patterns at several localities like Tarabha, Binika, Ulunda and Rampur in December and January.

Sources said that the gang members were visiting the shops and making an inquiry about prices of the sarees. Later, they were entering into the shops and houses where the sarees were stored by breaking open the locks and stealing the products.

A 10-member police team has been formed to probe into the incident.

“We recovered 78 pieces Sambalpuri sarees worth around Rs 3.50 lakh. We also seized 41 mobile phones, mobile accessories worth around Rs 2.50 lakh. A motorcycle (Hero Honda) and a TVS 125 without registration number were also recovered from the possession of the saree robbers,” said a police official.