The Sambalpur police have busted a interstate car lifting gang during a combing operation to flush out Maoist rebels in the area.
The police arrested the gangleader Sarat Dehuri of Dhenakal whose men were lifting only Maruti 800 AC cars from Delhi and the Union Territory of Daman and disposing them in Orissa and Jharkhand.
Police said the gangster was arrested from Jujomura on Thursday night when a combing operation was going on to nab the Maoists, Superintendent of police S Devdatta Singh said on Saturday.
Interrogation revealed that Sarat and his associates have stolen nearly 50 cars of which nine cars have been traced out so far from Sambalpur and Jharkhand.
The SP said the police were in touch with their Delhi and Daman counterparts to get more information on the gang's activities.