Bargarh: With the arrest of the five members of a family including a minor, police Wednesday claimed to have cracked the recent bank heist in which `40 lakh and gold weighing around 2.5 kg had been looted from Bhatli branch of Bank of Baroda (BoB) here in the town.
The accused were identified as prime accused Sushant Bagarti alias Hadu (21) of Mastertikra here, his two married sisters – Mamata Mahananda (28) of Mangala Jhumpudi, Banita Bagarti (20) of Pradhanpali, his mother Bishnu Bagarti (50) and a minor boy of the family.
A scooter used in the loot, an expensive mobile handset, `35.72 lakh and 2,386.08 gm gold jewellery were recovered from the accused and handed over to bank authorities, Sambalpur DIG Pratik Mohanty told media persons. While the four accused were produced in a local court, the minor was sent to Rourkela juvenile court, the DIG added. Later, they were sent to the jail as their bail petitions were rejected by
the court.
Providing details, police said prime accused Hadu is a professional thief who masterminded the whole loot. Earlier, two cases were lodged against him in Bargarh town police station and he was lodged in jail in those cases. However, he planned the loot after his release on bail.
It was learnt that the accused originally went to a pouch-water factory at Bhatli Chhak to pick up something from there on the night of September 19. Failing in his attempt, he managed to enter nearby BoB branch and decamped with the cash and valuables.
Bargarh SP B Jugal Kishore said getting lead in the case was a challenge for police in the absence of CCTVs. However, they got some clues after questioning around 25 persons in the case, the SP added. Police managed to arrest Hadu tracking his mobile phone.
During interrogations he disclosed the names of the other accused. Cash, gold and a scooter used in the crime were recovered from the house of his sister at Pradhanpali. However, `3.91 lakh and 61.35 gm of gold are yet to be recovered, police said, adding further investigations are on over the matter.
Additional SP Yashovant Senapati along with a special team –SDPO Suresh Kumar Nayak, Town police station IIC Biswamitra Halpal, SI SK Baliar Singh – who cracked the case were present at the press meet. PNN