Dhenkanal: Dhenkanal district police have arrested five alleged criminals in connection with the armed robbery at an SBI Customer Service Point (CSP) in Kankadahada under Sadar police station and recovered ₹6.5 lakh in cash, a country-made pistol, ammunition and vehicles used in the crime, officials said on Monday.
The robbery took place on September 28 when three armed men allegedly entered the CSP run by Sanjeev Kumar Behera, 49, and threatened him with a firearm and knife before fleeing with ₹3.5 lakh in cash, a gold ring and a mobile phone.
According to police, the accused locked the CSP from outside after committing the robbery and escaped on a motorcycle. A case was subsequently registered at Sadar police station under Case No. 830/2026.
Police said the breakthrough came during an investigation involving technical surveillance, CCTV footage and information gathered from local sources. The arrested accused allegedly confessed to their involvement and disclosed the identities of their associates during interrogation.
The arrested persons were identified as Bika alias Bikash Nayak, 24, of Haladiabahal under Motanga police station; Banti alias Amar Singh, 26, of Urali under Sadar police station in Kataka; Milan Naik, 28, of Haladiabahal; Bapi alias Ambika Prasad Das, 21, of Harekrishnapur in Kaimati under Sadar police station; and Brijesh Pradhan alias Jitu, 26, of Pradhansahi under Motanga police station.
Police said the seizures included one country-made pistol, six live cartridges, four empty shells, three magazines, two knives, a small axe, a Maruti Baleno car, a TVS Raider motorcycle, an Ola scooter, two masks, gloves, chilli powder, 12 mobile phones and ₹6.5 lakh in cash.
The accused are allegedly involved in several robbery, dacoity and theft cases across Dhenkanal, Kataka, Angul, Jajpur and Keonjhar districts, police said.
Eight cases are already registered against them at Sadar police station in Dhenkanal, including Case Nos. 200/2026, 472/2026, 477/2026, 726/2026, 727/2026, 741/2026, 755/2026 and 830/2026. More than a dozen other cases are pending against the accused at Motanga, Rasol, Hindol and Town police stations, besides cases in Kataka and Jajpur districts, police said.
Sadar IIC Priyabrata Das, Town IIC Dhiren Behera, Motanga IIC Deepak Lenka, SIs Shaktiprasad Sahu and Pratap Sahu and other police personnel were part of the operation.
