8 dacoits who looted Odisha liquor factory caught in Jharkhand; ₹3.5 cr seized

Police teams from 11 districts in Jharkhand and Odisha collaborated to track down the robbers in Ranchi, 600km from Kalahandi where the factory was looted

Updated on: Feb 1, 2025, 19:24:58 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: Eight men suspected to have robbed a country-made liquor factory in Odisha’s Kalahandi district on Thursday have been arrested and ₹3.5 crore cash seized from them, the district police said on Saturday.

Police said the eight men were suspected to be involved in a dozen dacoity cases in Jharkhand and Odisha.

Kalahandi superintendent of police (SP) Abilash G said the eight were arrested in connection with the robbery of a liquor factory in the district’s Dharmagarh area on Thursday.

“On late Thursday, the eight robbers wearing masks entered the factory with deadly weapons and looted a huge amount of money by threatening with guns and deadly weapons,” Abilash G said.

Police said ₹3.51 crore cash, guns and vehicles used in the robbery have also been seized.

The accused have been identified by the police as Tahir Ansari, Hussain Khan, Jasim Khan, Shamim Ansari, Basudev Gope, Pintu alias Alim, Anuj Kumar and Sameem Ansari from Ranchi.

Police said while two or three of them robbed the cash, the others tied up the employees with ropes. The accused also removed the hard disk of the CCTV camera at the factory and fled from the scene in a sports utility vehicle.

Police said two suspects were initially arrested after police teams tracked them down but the others had managed to escape to Jharkhand. The remaining six were finally arrested from Jharkhand.

Police said police teams of 11 districts in Odisha and Jharkhand collaborated to trace the suspects. Apart from Kalahandi, police teams in Balangir, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Rourkela, Gumla, Ranchi Rural, Lohar Daga, West Singhbhum and Simdega districts were involved in the operation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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