The Srikakulam district police have arrested five members of a gang in connection with the dacoity that occurred last month at Sri Venkateswara Jewellers in Palasa-Kasibugga town, Visakhapatnam. The criminals, posing as GST and police officers, entered the jewellery shop at Nithyananda Nagar on April 7 and looted 800 grams of gold ornaments after handcuffing the owner, Killamsetti Ramakrishna Rao, and threatening him and his staff at gunpoint.
Details of the Arrest and Recovery
Srikakulam district police chief KV Maheswara Reddy announced that the police solved the dacoity case and recovered 243 grams of gold ornaments worth Rs 31.5 lakh, Rs 3.41 lakh in cash, four cars, a 9 mm pistol with five cartridges, a 7.65 mm pistol with two magazines and 11 cartridges, all valued at over Rs 49 lakh.
Identities of the Accused
The arrested individuals have been identified as Ramachandra Sahu (43), alias Babu, from Lathi village, Bodo Dandasahi, Ganjam district, Odisha; Kuna Barik (36), from Denga Paduro village, Kabisuryanagar Block, Ganjam district, Odisha; Banoj Bihari Patnaik (32), from Balarampur, Kamahar Sahi, Khordha district, Odisha; Tapan Maharana (41), from Gopinathpur Nova Sahi, Banpur Block, Khordha district, Odisha; and Potnuru Tirumala Patro (56), from Palasa-Kasibugga, Srikakulam district.
Planning and Execution of the Crime
The investigation revealed that Tirumala Patro and Kuna Barik decided to loot the jewellery shop in 2023 and conducted a recce three to four times. Patro and Barik, along with five others, travelled from Bhubaneswar to Kasibugga on three bikes and one car, taking different routes to avoid toll gates and CCTV cameras. Although the gang planned to loot the shop on April 5, their efforts failed because the shop closed early that day.
On April 7 at noon, the seven gang members reached the gold shop on three bikes without number plates. Wearing masks, sunglasses, and caps, they entered the shop claiming to be GST and police officials conducting a search. They sprayed black paint on the CCTV cameras, immediately handcuffed the owner, threatened him and staff with a gun, collected gold ornaments, and fled on their bikes.
Investigation and Previous Crimes
Based on CCTV footage near a bank, the police intensified their investigation and identified the gang after gathering information from automobile stores. The gang has been involved in similar crimes across parts of Odisha, with a total of 32 criminal cases, including dacoity with arms. The investigation is ongoing to apprehend two more individuals linked to the case and to recover additional stolen gold jewellery.
