Koraput: Koraput police have arrested three persons in connection with a daring highway robbery in which 40 bags of paddy were looted from a Bolero pickup van.
The arrested accused have been identified as Rahim Bhatra (21), Asher Bagh (21) and Ruhen Benya (22). All three hail from different villages under Koraput Sadar Police Station limits.
According to the complaint filed by Jagadish Panigrahi on April 10, driver of his Bolero pickup van (registration number OD10M9519) was transporting 65 bags of paddy from Kakriguma towards Boriguma. At Machhara Ghati road, eight armed miscreants riding four motorcycles, including two Bullet bikes, obstructed the vehicle. They threatened the driver with swords, took control of the Bolero, unloaded 40 bags of paddy and later returned the empty vehicle. The miscreants also robbed the driver’s mobile phone and Rs 1,000 in cash before fleeing.
During investigation, Koraput Sadar Police arrested the three accused and recovered 40 paddy bags (50 kg each), two Bullet motorcycles, one black TVS Jupiter scooty and a Samsung tablet.
Interrogation of the arrested persons revealed that the same gang was involved in at least two previous robbery cases targeting field staff of Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited in Koraput district. In the first case on January 3, 2026, three miscreants robbed a Samsung tablet from an employee near Sana Chindri village. In the second incident on February 18, 2026, another female field staff member was robbed of her TVS Jupiter scooty, Rs 74,708 in cash, a Samsung tablet, biometric scanner and other documents while returning from field collection between Padmapur and Panasput.
A case has been registered under Section 310(2) BNS at Koraput Sadar Police Station. The Investigating Officer, SI Sudhansu Kumar Nayak, said further investigation is underway and the remaining members of the gang will be arrested soon.
