Anugola: Chhendipada police busted an interstate gang allegedly involved in a gold-cleaning fraud racket and arrested four persons on Monday, recovering gold ornaments worth around Rs 15 lakh, police said.
The accused allegedly targeted women and elderly persons by posing as gold-cleaning agents and fled with their ornaments after taking them on the pretext of cleaning.
The arrested persons were identified as Chandan Kumar Dash and Sarvan Kumar Saha, both from Katihar district in Bihar. Police said the duo had been staying in a rented house in the Talacher area and allegedly travelled to different locations in Anugola, Dhenkanal and Jajpur districts to carry out the fraud.
According to police, the accused would approach women and elderly persons, claiming to provide gold-cleaning services. They allegedly convinced victims to hand over gold chains, rings and other ornaments for cleaning before fleeing with the valuables.
Acting on two cases registered at Chhendipada police station, police formed two special teams to track down the gang. The teams used human intelligence and technical evidence to identify the accused and trace their movements.
“Some people were found to be involved in fraudulent gold-cleaning operations in our district. Prima facie, they targeted women and elderly persons by posing as agents offering gold-cleaning services. They would deceptively take gold chains, rings and other valuables from the victims and flee with them,” Anugola SP Rahul Jain told reporters.
The investigation led police to Chandan and Sarvan, who were allegedly operating from the Talcher area. Police said they were also travelling to other parts of Anugola and neighbouring Dhenkanal and Jajpur districts to target victims.
Police recovered three gold chains and one broken gold chain, collectively valued at around Rs 15 lakh, besides a motorcycle, two mobile phones, 18 packets of cleaning powder and 15 bottles of cleaning liquid.
Two other persons were also arrested for allegedly harbouring the key accused, SP said.
The investigation has also revealed the gang’s alleged involvement in four more cases in Anugola and other districts of Odisha.
“We have detected four more cases in the district and other parts of Odisha where they allegedly carried out similar operations. Further investigation is underway,” Jain said.
Police suspect that the gang may have a wider network operating across states and are now trying to identify other members and trace their activities.
Police have urged women and elderly persons to exercise caution when approached by strangers offering gold-cleaning services. They have also advised people not to hand over valuable ornaments to unidentified persons and to immediately alert police about any suspicious activity.
