Jharsuguda: Rengali police in Jharsuguda district have arrested a gang of six inter-state thieves.
According to the police, the inter-state gang was involved in stealing huge iron pipes used in mega drinking water supply projects from different districts.
The gang used to sell these pipes for a profit in the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh, police added.
The accused have been identified as Vinod Raj Chouhan and Sanjay Gond of Chhattisgarh; Pratap Singh of Sundargarh; and Surendra Nayak, Kailash Khadia, and Amus Munda of Sambalpur, police said.
Chouhan, the mastermind of the inter-state gang used to transport the stolen pipes to Chhattisgarh in his truck by affixing fake vehicle registration number plates, police added.
Chouhan used to then sell the stolen pipes to a factory in Chhattisgarh, police said.
Acting on a tip-off, police recovered pipes stolen from Badimal and Amapali areas on February 26 and 27 and had hidden those in a forested area near Kanakdora.
Police seized two trucks loaded with the stolen pipes from the forested area and arrested the accused persons.
The accused have been forwarded to court, police said.
