Bhubaneswar: The special task force (STF) of the state Crime Branch (CB) arrested eight alleged criminals with links to gangster Tito during simultaneous raids at multiple locations in Cuttack late Monday night.
The accused are under interrogation at the STF office here after being brought from Cuttack.
Sources said, the STF had constituted 10 different teams that carried out the raids with the help of Lalbag and Mangalabag police at different places in Cuttack.
The arrested have been identified as Sajid Khan (35), Sk Mustaq alias Musu, Sk Kalam(51) alias Puni of Dewan Bazar under the Lalbag police station limits. The team also arrested Md Abdul Asif alias Golden Pappu of Mehendipur, Imitias Khan (32) of Banka Bazar area and Sk Abdula of Keshavpur under Mangalabag police station limits and Jahangir Khan (32) of Gamandia. The identity of another was still to be ascertained. All the eight persons were allegedly worked for Tito who is accused of tender-fixing, murder, extortion and sand fixing of mining lease.
Earlier, Tito was sent to judicial custody after the end of his three-day remand Monday. The detailed case record, lists of seized properties of Tito and his relatives, along with the recorded statement under Section 161 CrPC in the court was submitted by the STF Monday. Tito also reportedly requested permission to file a petition before the SDJM court.
Tito alias Sayeed Usman Ali was arrested by the STF team from his home at Dilawarpur in Kendrapara June 30. Since his arrest, the STF has seized almost 50 bank accounts in his name and in the names of his relatives, including his wife Benazir Bibi.
STF has already arrested around 10 aides of Tito from Cuttack, Jagatsinhpur, Paradip and Kendrapara area. The STF team has also sealed offices of Cobra Transport, Simran Garment shop owned by Benazir, Tito and his relatives. The STF has also traced properties of Tito in Kolkata as well.
Premanand Lenka, a contractor of Rajnagar filed a complaint with the STF against Tito and his associates for threatening him with a pistol demanding `70 lakh.
Lenka was executing a contract at Aul in Patamundai irrigation division worth `7 crore.
The STF registered a case against Tito and his associates in this connection. Another case in connection with forcibly occupying 36 gunthas of land worth `1.44 crore was registered by Gobinda Chandra Mohanty, a resident of Fatehpur.
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