M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Jan 2: Palamu Police have arrested three persons for allegedly looting bank customers. Interestingly, Palamu police have recovered no illicit weapon but itching powder from the arrested criminals. They used to sprinkle itching powder on bank customers and looting the cash so drawn from the bank.
Police have recovered 37 small pouches of the itching powder called Alkusi from the three arrested Dipak, Rahul and Sunil, all three are the members of the Korha gang of Katihar in Bihar. Dipak and Rahul come from Katihar while Sunil hails from Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh. Their kingpin Basudev Nut has absconded.
SP Palamu Chandan kr Sinha today held a press conference informing about the itching gang. He said the gang used to target careless customers of the SBI branch in Panki. When the customers come out of the branch after their cash withdrawal, the gang looted them with their most bizzare technique that is sprinkling itching powder on them.
“The gang looted 40,000 rupees Kiran Devi om December 23. Thirteen days before December 10 one customer, H R Ansari of the same SBI branch had withdrawn 90,000 rupees which this itching gang looted after breaking open his bike carrier. The three; Dipak, Rahul and Sunil have been remanded in judicial custody today along with a woman and a house owner,” said SP.
Police informed that the Sahiya Rinki Devi along with the house owner Kirti Singh was sent in judicial remand on Sunday. The house owner had rented his two rooms to this gang to operate.
Police have recovered 19,880 cash, 2 stolen bikes and iron rods which were used to break bike carrier, four keypad phones and one touch screen mobile and a sim and most important of them the police recovered 37 small pouches of itching powder.
