Jeypore police crack major inter-district robbery ring; arrest 2, seize Rs 5 lakh in cash and stolen goods

Koraput:

Jeypore town police busted an inter-district robbery racket and arrested two persons and recovered Rs 5 lakh in cash, a motorcycle and a car from them in connection with a series of thefts and robberies across Koraput and Malkangiri districts, on Monday.The arrested accused have been identified as Shantiraj Nag (19) and Abinash Maharana (28), of Jeypore, said police.According to police, the investigation began after a complaint was lodged by one Radha Mohan Pattnaik of Hanaguda, Jeypore, on April 15, alleging that miscreants had broken into his neighbour’s house the previous night and stolen gold, silver ornaments, and Rs 10,000 in cash.Police arrested Nag and during interrogation he confessed to committing the theft along with Abhinash and revealed that they had sold the stolen gold to a local goldsmith, K.

Murali, for Rs 50,000.“During sustained interrogation, the accused disclosed their involvement in a major robbery that took place in Malkangiri in June this year. The information provided by them helped trace the inter-district gang operating across Koraput and Malkangiri,” said SDPO (Jeypore) Parth Kashyap.According to police on June 3, 2025, Shantiraj, along with Akash Moharana, Raju Nayak, Bharat Nayak, Ajaya, and K.

Suman Achary, conspired to rob the owner of Prasad Jewellery in Malkangiri. The jeweller, who usually carried about 1.2 kg of gold ornaments home after closing his shop, was followed by the gang. Shantiraj and another accomplice, Pradip Khora, intercepted him while he was returning home and snatched the bag containing the jewellery before escaping on a motorcycle.“The gang later regrouped with their associates waiting nearby and fled to Chitrakonda and subsequently to Visakhapatnam. There, they contacted two persons from Jeypore, S. Venkatesh and K. Murli, seeking help to dispose of the stolen ornaments. When that failed, they moved to Vizianagaram, where they melted the gold using a locally purchased melting machine. Around 200 grams of the melted gold was sold for Rs 18.2 lakh, while the remaining quantity was retained for later sale,” the SDPO said.“The recovered cash and vehicles will be handed over to Malkangiri district police for further investigation and necessary legal proceedings,” said Kashyap.