Constable arrested for attempting to rob Rs 30 lakh in Gajapati

Paralakhemundi: Two people, including a police constable, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in an attempt to loot Rs 30 lakh in Odisha’s Gajapati district. Speaking to media persons about the case on Sunday, Paralakhemundi SDPO Madhavananda Nayak said that Ravindranath, from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, had lodged a complaint with the Paralakhemundi Town Police about the robbery attempt on January 25.

Rabindranath said that Rajesh of Saluru in his state had informed him about a person from Paralakhemundi offering Rs 60 lakh of Rs 2000 notes in exchange for Rs 30 lakh of Rs 500 notes. When he contacted them, Rabindranath was asked to accompany Rajesh to a place in Gajapati district with the money.

As per the deal, on the evening of 25 January, Ravindranath and Rajesh went to Kerandi village by car. From there, they went inside a forest area where Rajesh tried to snatch the bag containing money from Rabindranath. However, some youths playing nearby came to save Rabindranath. They caught Rajesh and informed the police. A team from Paralakhemundi Town police station went there and arrested Rajesh. A bag full of money was also recovered from his possession.

The SPO said that during the investigation, police found out that constable Tanuj Kumar Sabat, who is also the president of Gajapati District Constable Association, was involved in the crime. Sabat has gone to the spot with the police team. He had also taken Rajesh’s mobile phone and given it to someone else. Later, the police recovered the mobile phone and took the constable under investigation. After investigation, Tanuj was suspended from service. The SDPO said Tanuj was arrested on Saturday and sent to the local court on Sunday.