Jatni: A Special Task Force (STF) comprising Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) officials Sunday arrested five members of an inter-state robbers’ gang, whose primary targets were train travellers, from the Khurda Road station here.
The accused were identified as Sunil Kumar (40), Rajesh (27), Bijendra Kumar (31), Rajesh Kumar (28) and Rabindra (32), all residents of villages in and around Delhi and Haryana.
“Cash worth `20,700, a few sharp-edge weapons, five smartphones, chilli powder, a pistol and face masks have been recovered from the arrested. The gang was active throughout the country,” the STF members, including Khurda Road GRP in-charge Santosh Kumar Bahinipati, RPF inspector DC Nayak, STF sub-inspector Ranmaya Kumar Patra, informed the media.
According to the police, the gang’s mastermind used to control the members from Delhi. The members of the gang used to assemble in hotels in Bhubaneswar. The desperadoes usually targeted passengers in AC and sleeper class trains, they added.
Revealing the miscreants’ modus operandi, the officials said, “Initially they would advance with travellers and rob their valuables from bags using pliers, screwdrivers and master keys. However, in case of failure, they flash sharp-edge weapons and threaten the passengers before fleeing the compartment with valuables and cash.
About the crackdown, the officials said, the STF has been tracking the gang’s movement for the past two months. “Today, the miscreants had assembled at the foot over-bridge near Platform-7 of Khurda Road station and were hatching a plan to rob passengers in Guwahati-Chennai Express. Upon suspicion, we interrogated them. Later, they confessed their crimes,” an STF official said, adding, if required they would be taken on remand.
PNN