Four men held for looting Rs 30 lakh from Steel City businessman

Jamshedpur: Four men, who allegedly looted Rs 30 lakh from a businessman while he was on his way to the bank on September 4, have ended up in the police net. Making the announcement on Friday, East Singhbhum SSP Piyush Pandey said a portion of the looted cash was also recovered from the accused.

Saket Kumar Agiwal was headed to the bank when armed criminals hurled chilli powder on his face and snatched his bag near a Gurudwara in Rani Kudar under Bistupur police station limits. When Agiwal tried to chase them, they fired a few shots in the air and fled. Pandey on Friday said a special investigation team headed by DSP (CCCR) Manoj Thakur examined footages from over 50 CCTV cameras to ascertain the identity of the miscreants. Based on the identification, raids were conducted at multiple locations in East Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharsawan, and West Singhbhum districts.A police team, which travelled to Amritsar in Punjab, arrested one Rakesh Kumar Mandal alias Pakaudi (41). “A Kadma resident, Mandal helped identify his accomplices and give away their hideouts based on which other members of the gang were held,” Pandey said. A chunk of the looted money was also recovered from Mandal, he added.The other three criminals arrested were Kamlesh Narayan Dubey alias Shankar (41), a resident of New Ranikudar, Sudhir Narayan Behra (35), a resident of Noamundi in West Singhbhum, and Ganesh Kumbhakar alias Fucha (25), a resident of Gamharia in Seraikela.

“Three others who were part of the robbery are on the run, and raids are being conducted to nab them,” the SSP said. Pandey said it was Dubey who planned the robbery.

A sum of Rs 10.69 lakh were recovered from the miscreants along with a country-made pistol, a car, and the four mobile phones that were used in executing the crime. All the four accused were charged with section 309 (6) BNS and the Arms Act 1959 and were sent to jail.