The Police today arrested the kingpin of a gang engaged in looting people by feeding them biscuits mixed with sedatives.
Bhaskar Khatua alias Bulu (37) of Talapada under Tirtolo police station limits in Jagatsinghpur district was arrested from Bhubaneswar in connection with murdering a person at MKCG Medical College and Hospital here on September 12.
The accused along with two of his associates had allegedly offered sedative biscuits to Chandra Sekhar Panda (35) while he was taking rest at a place in the medical college.
Panda of Golapada village near Bhanjanagar was at the hospital to attend his four-month old ailing son.
After Panda lost his conscious, the accused persons looted Rs 5,000 in cash and a mobile set from him. Next day, Panda's wife found him in a secluded place and admitted him to the hospital, where he later died.
A police team led by sub-divisional police officer, Berhampur, P K Patnaik, was formed to investigate the incident.
"After several attempts, we nabbed Khatua from Bhubaneswar" said SP (Berhampur) Sarthak Sarangi.
"We have identified two of his associates," he said.
"During the interrogation, we came to know they were involved in several such type of cases, mostly in come trains. There were some pending cases involving them with the Government Railway Police at Bhubaneswar and Cuttack," the SP said.
