Bhubaneswar: The Capital Police have arrested four persons and seized weapons and other incriminating materials after foiling a dacoity plan in City, officials said Monday.
The accused have been identified as Silu Nayak (36), Bhabani Shankar Mohapatra alias Bana (36), Kalia Das alias Lokanath Das (65) and Bapi Nayak (30).
Acting on a tip-off during night patrolling on the intervening night of June 28 and 29, a team from Capital Police Station raided an abandoned government quarter behind Congress Bhawan in Unit-II and caught the accused while they were allegedly preparing to target lone commuters and passengers returning from the railway station area during late-night and early-morning hours.
One accused, identified as Sanjaya Pradhan (32), managed to flee under the cover of darkness, police said.
Police said the accused con fessed during interrogation that they had assembled to rob pedestrians and passengers of cash, mobile phones, gold ornaments and other valuables by using deadly weapons.
During the raid, police seized one sword, one iron knife, two sharp blades, four black face masks, chilli powder, three liquor bottles containing residual alcohol and five disposable glasses from the spot.
Investigators said the accused have criminal antecedents, with multiple cases registered against them.
Among the accused, Bhabani has eight and Silu has 5 cases registered against them at the city’s different police stations.
They were forwarded to the Court.