Truck lifter gang busted in Odisha

Rajashree DashJajpur, Nov 28: Jajpur district police busted an inter district gang of robbers who used to steal parked trucks on National and State highways and sell them inside and outside the state, police said today.While police arrested eight of the members, five other members of the gang managed to escape from the police dragnet.Police also recovered one stolen truck, one SUV, sharp edged weapons, 56 truck tyres and twelve mobile phones from their possession.The arrested have been identified as Akshaya Kumar Mallick, Jairam Bej, Manas Mohapatra, all of them belonging to Nischintakoili in Cuttack district and Sukanta Mallick, Ananta Sethy, both of them belong to Kantigadia, Kedar Kumar Senapathy of Nisimala, Dipu Dehury of Paikarapur and Chandan Dehury of Bairapur in Jajpur district.The arrested were forwarded to the court on Friday and later remanded to judicial custody after their bail pleas were rejected.Police claimed that the gang had been involved in stealing of as many as many as 16 trucks from Jajpur district alone.Besides, the gang has involved in stealing of many trucks in Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Angul and Khurda districts, police said.The gang was operating in a technical manner by dividing its members into four teams.The inter district gang used to steal parked trucks on National and state highways and sell them in and outside the state.The gang came to police net after district Superintendent of Police formed a special squad to nab the gang in wake of the rampant theft of trucks in the district.More than 94 trucks were reportedly stolen in Jajpur district in the last two years.The special squad comprising of some efficient police officers raided several places in and outside the districts and finally managed to nab eight of its members.Speaking to the modus operndi of the gang on Thursday evening, Jajpur Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Santosh Kumar Nayak said the 13 member gang used to divide themselves into four teams during operation.“While the first team consists of four members kept a close watch on the movement of trucks on National or state highways and collect information regarding their parking places, the second team, consists of two expert drivers loot the vehicles from the parking places,” said ASP Nayak.He said the stolen trucks would then handed over the third team who works as the custodian of the looted vehicles adding fourth team comprise of garage owner and Kabadiwala collect the truck and sold them in and outside the state.“It is a inter district gang having 13 of its members.We have arrested eight of its members and rest will be arrested soon,” said the ASP.