Bhubaneswar: The Pahala police Wednesday arrested two individuals for allegedly planning and looting Rs 20 lakh from an acquaintance, officials said. The accused have been identified as Babul Behera (25) and Saroj Sutar (30). According to police, the complainant, who manages GST and IT returns for small traders, was returning home November 24 carrying Rs 20 lakh in cash collected from Cuttack.
On the way, he met his friends Suresh and Saroj Sutar and went with them to a hotel for dinner, where he mentioned the cash stored in a bag in his vehicle. Sutar, who had earlier tried to borrow Rs 2 lakh from the complainant, informed his associate Jagannath Mallick after learning about the cash. Jagannath then formed a team with Babul Behera and two others to loot the money. Armed with a sword and other weapons, they set out on two motorcycles towards Pahala.
As part of the conspiracy, Saroj deliberately delayed the complainant near Pahala until Jagannath’s group arrived. The gang then created an atmosphere of fear and forcibly snatched Rs 20 lakh from him. To mislead investigators, Saroj even accompanied the complainant to the police station to file the report. Following raids, the police arrested the accused Babul and Saroj, seizing Rs 1,70,000 and a motorcycle from them. Based on preliminary evidence, both were produced in court Wednesday. Efforts are ongoing to trace the remaining accomplices and recover the remaining stolen funds.
